Genesis | bk. - madwoozy - 僕のヒーローアカデミア

Chapter 1 Chapter Text

In the forefront of your earshot, you can hear your English teacher babbling on about the diverse use of the semi-colon.

But you had no interest in her teaching.

In fact, only ten minutes into the lesson, you found yourself completely bewildered by a little bird outside the window.

It hopped around like an insect, and seemed to bare no weight, and no restraints. Light on its feet, jolly, and free. So ceaselessly free.

You thinned your eyes at it, thinking of the endless bounds of their freedom, and how it made you feel green with jealousy. That feeling lingered for a while. You had to bite your bottom lip to make sure it wasn't quivering.

You had always pondered deeply about if there were more waiting for you out there. If there were more in general.

Life in Tokyo had become so dull.

You had lost all of your strive, and hunger for life that you remember having as a little girl. But now, it was as if the thought of being dammed to a life living in your parents' shadow seemed like a fate worse than death, somehow. Repetition had become your achilles heel. You were, to put it simply, f*cking bored.

If there wasn't more waiting for you—there was no future for you.

That is what you've felt for a while. Although it was incredibly cynical and dark, you weren't one to hide your truths from yourself.

You f*cking hated this life.

You often wondered seriously about what it would take to finally get out of here. How much suffering would you have to endure? How long your grief would overwhelm you until you were finally free enough to at least breathe.

Where would you go?

Maybe Slovakia. You could move out onto a huge farm, find a husband or wife, have two kids and five-thousand sheep. Or maybe Australia, with a lifetime of surfing and coffee dates to come. Or maybe you'd move to the USA, and join the Navy Seals.

That thought brought a reserved smile to your face.

That last one felt the most like you.

Though, your daydreaming of better times was unfortunately cut short by the indiscreet whispering of your desk-buddy.

"Pssst!"

Great.

"Miss Rei. Is there something more important than my lesson out that window that needs your attention more that I do?"

You turned back around to find your teacher raising an unhappy brow at you, and your friend cringed by your side, as she knew you were in for it.

"Um." you blinked for a few seconds, looking back out to the window. "That bird, I guess."

A couple of muted giggles echoed around you, and you knew it wasn't going to help your case.

"Well, then. I trust you'll have plenty of time to revise what we've learned today, in detention."

You resist the urge to eye-roll as a symphony of 'ooh's and 'ahh's break out in the classroom.

A mere moment later, the overhead bell sounds around the school.

And in seconds, your class had turned to chaos. All around you students scrambled for their belongings while the teacher helplessly called out trying to overthrow the loud chatter, and remind everyone of their homework.

You kept quiet and threw your bag over one shoulder, making your way out of the room behind the stampeding masses. You kept your head down for no particular reason as you walked through the halls of your local public school, Musutafu Heights High.

A few seconds later, your best friend from the class caught up to you, grabbing your shoulders and giggling.

"Seriously, Y/N! Why do you egg her on like that?" she jogs up to your side and adjusts her bag straps. "You could have gotten out of that with a free afternoon."

"Nah, it was fair. I barely even said anything, and you know she always singles me out." you groan, rolling your shoulders that were sore from jiu jitsu training. "As if I don't already know how to use a f*cking semi-colon, Ochaco."

"I know, I know," she laughs alongside you. "She picks on you 'cause you know too much! Just take the win next time."

"No promises," you laugh, nudging her with your elbow. "Anyway. At least it's lunch and I can have a moment to breathe."

"Yeah. OH! Also, Niko told me he brought brownies for us!" Ochaco grabs your arm excitedly. "Let's get to the cafeteria, i'm starving."

You slowly rub your empty stomach, "Me too."

—————

School was over and even that was no relief.

For you still had a whole hour of detention to survive.

You knew that entering the room fifteen minutes late was much less than ideal. But, once you finally arrived, you immediately noticed one of the other students arguing with the supervisor, taking all of her attention.

He was shouting and smacking the desk in some kind of loud tantrum, which was nothing but a blessing for you.

Perfect, actually.

You managed to sneak inside and sit down at a desk at the very back of the room, somehow completely unnoticed.

"Whatever. But I was here!" the angry blonde says. "And as soon as that clock hits five, i'm outta here. Got it, Wrinkles?"

The grumpy boy ends his tantrum, and swings around, looking so angry that there surely should have been steam pouring out of his ears. His eyes resembled molten lava, as he glared across at you.

You knew him. Bakugou Katsuki, from your gym class. A stupid hothead who had apparently not yet fully developed his prefrontal cortex.

He liked to pick problems with kids all around the school. Mostly the ones that were already beneath him on his 'hierarchy', as if to remind them of where they stood on the food chain.

He was full of sh*t.

The blonde was lucky he hadn't tried any of your friends yet.

You didn't offer him any politeness, as he glared at you - the only other student in the detention room - from across the empty space.

"The f*ck are you lookin' at?"

"A moron, apparently."

He scoffs, poking his tongue into his cheek as if he's going to explode at any moment. You wouldn't be surprised if he did.

"Bakugou." the teacher groans in a way that is oddly menacing. "Don't."

Don't. Your eyes say the same thing.

"Who the hell are you?" he growls at you, and you can see his fists clenching at his sides.

"None of your-"

"Oh wait, I don't care." he says abruptly, throwing his backpack onto a nearby table. "You're just an extra in my story."

Damn.

You didn't expect him to be so...stupid.

"Just stay the hell out of my way." he orders.

"That should be pretty easy, since you seem to spend a lot of time cooped up in here."

He grits his teeth, looking like he is about to flip the table in front of him. He is ticking. He's nearing his breaking point, and it's kind of amusing how quickly that happened.

"You don't know a damn thing about me."

You lean back further in your seat, swinging your arms over your head to rest. "And i'd like to keep it that way, so shut the f*ck up please."

"MISS REI! Language! And Bakugou, sit down!"

"Oh yeah?"

He looks like he is about to snap. His hands are shaking. This is it, for sure.

And given the day you had, you're not entirely opposed to a fight.

But despite that, what the raging boy does next actually manages to take you by surprise.

You expected him to flip you off, or shout ghastly profanities at you, or maybe just come at you for a fight.

But what he did instead?

He shook his head and took a seat.

Chapter 2: The Beginning

Chapter Text

You walk into the cafeteria holding a large container that you had brought from home.

Wanting to return the favour to Niko who had brought you all delicious homemade brownies the day before, you decided to bring your own offering.

You stayed up very late alone, making blueberry muffins.

For hours you played jazz music in the kitchen, humming along to the melodies while dancing in an oversized white button-up, and your favourite trusty apron. Flour was everywhere and the smells were to die for.

Baking had always been a guilt-free guilty pleasure of yours.

You never thought too much about it, but you just loved the serenity. The silence. The aromas. Everything about it was peace to you, which in your home, was not something you got much of.

Clutching your box of treats, you walk around the cafeteria for about five minutes, looking for your friends. But, after you still couldn't find them in their usual spot, you decided to look outside for them. And sure enough, through the window, you saw a very familiar head.

"Izuku!"

He spun around with a smile on his face and waved you over.

"Hey, guys. Y/N's here today!"

"I am," you announce, walking over with a tupperware container in your arms, grinning proudly as all of your friends welcome you. "And I come baring gifts."

"More sweets?" Ochaco beams, "This is the best week of my life! What did you make?"

"Blueberry muffins," you claim, clicking open the container and offering it around the circle as all of your friends take one.

"Hell yeah!"

"Thanks Y/N!"

You laugh, "No worries."

Then, a moving figure catches your attention out of your peripheral, and you turn around to make sure it was him.

One boy that you were familiar with through the school gym and corresponding schedules goes jogging by you chasing a ball, and you don't hesitate to call him over.

"Kiri!"

He stops jogging, his soft black hair framing his face sweetly. He smiles and lets out a strained breath.

"Oh, hi Rei. How are ya?"

"Oh, y'know. Living the dream," you chant, bringing your open container up in between you. "Wanna try a muffin? You can take some for your friends if you'd like."

His eyes widen as he looks down at your offering. "Hey, that's really sweet. I'd love to! Thank you!"

You smile warmly as he reaches into the container and takes three muffins, somewhat nervously.

"I bet they're super good. Thanks heaps!"

"Don't mention it-" you pause when you notice a cut on Kirishima's eye, sewn with a few stitches. "Hey. What happened to your eye?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I accidentally scratched it last night."

"Ooh," you wince your face at him, offering sympathy. It didn't really look like just a scratch. "That looks sore. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just me being a doofus." he laughs it off. "Anyway, thank you for the muffins!"

"...You're welcome."

You smile at him before you turned back around. But you could tell, something was off.

He didn't seem to want to talk about it, so you weren't going to pry.

You spun back around to face your friends, shaking off the thought, to find them all suspiciously silent. And after a few seconds of looking around in confusion, you ask: "What?!"

Ochaco and Niko, and another friend Amelie, are all smiling mischievously between one another.

Midoriya Izuku is in a blank stare in the distance as he inhales his muffin. He seems to like it.

You realised what the others were insinuating much too soon, and dropped your shoulders in defeat. "Guys! Don't make it weird! We just trained in the gym together a few times. He's a nice dude, that's all."

"Mhm..." Niko fights back a laugh, "He's very nice."

"Ugh, shut up and eat your muffin."

The laughing carries on for a few more seconds as all of your friends happily divulge in your baking.

"Y/N, these are so good! They're really sweet," Ochaco reaches over with her hand and taps your forearm. "Which you know I love- uh... AH!"

You weren't sure what you were feeling at first, but something changed.

A scary change.

One moment, you were standing there happily watching your friends. And the very next, you felt your feet lift off the ground.

As if something was pulling you into the sky.

No.

As if you lost gravity.

"AH!" Ochaco screeches again, covering her mouth with both hands as you rise off the ground in front of her.

"Y/N!" Niko screams in terror.

The screams caught the attention of everyone in the courtyard immediately.

Your eyes are wide with horror, you look at your arms, as you start to move so your back is facing the ground. You lift over a metre above the ground.

"What the f*ck..." you whisper in bewilderment.

Fear hadn't struck just yet. You were still frozen in shock and unaware of what was happening, and if it were even real.

But you were floating.

And getting higher.

"OH GOD, Y/N!" Midoriya jumps to try and grab your foot but he misses by a mere inch.

That is when Kirishima comes out of nowhere, flying over to the group and jumping up high, clasping his hand tightly around your ankle.

"REI? What the hell is happening right now!?" he panics, wide-eyed and shaken as he moves his other hand to support your ankle. He holds you with both hands as you keep floating.

It all starts to hit you.

"I DON'T KNOW!" you shout, completely void of any answers. "DON'T LET ME GO! PLEASE!"

Your friends are frozen in fear and panic beneath you, while your weightless body floats in the air above them, bound only to the ground by Kirishima's hands.

"I'M NOT LETTING GO! I SWEAR!"

"WHAT THE f*ck!?" you shout out again, your cheeks red and your arms trembling in the air beside you.

The other students in the courtyard flock over to you much too quick to prevent. Tens on tens of shocked kids surround you in a matter of seconds. And their phones are out, as everyone is desperate to record the phenomenon.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING!?"

Ochaco is squealing, jumping in what seems to be anxiety. Her features are knitted up in all sorts of turmoil.

"This happened last night!" she admitted loud enough for the immediate circle to hear, above the screaming cohort. "I touched my pen and it started floating in the air! It took me forever to get it down!"

She is just as confused and scared as you are.

"Uraraka!" Kirishima yells, "How did you get it down!? Do it now!"

Everyone is unable to think logically or clearly. The entire scene is utter madness.

"I-I DON'T KNOW! I JUST-"

"Y/N! DROP!" someone called.

"IF I KNEW HOW TO DO THAT I'D HAVE DONE IT BY NOW YOU f*ckING IMBECILES!"

"URARAKA!"

"I CANT DO IT!"

"WHY NOT!?"

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

And suddenly, it's back.

Your body weight. It's back and better than ever when you fall.

You crash down and land on top of Kirishima, causing you both to tumble down onto the grass in a heap of pain and shaky limbs.

"Y/N!" Ochaco cries out.

Everyone rushes to kneel down beside you.

Kirishima hurries to sit up and inspect you. He grabs your wrists which are violently shaking in his hands, as you stare at the floor ahead of you, unable to catch your breath.

You heave in, desperately trying to breathe.

What the hell was that?

Voices are screaming at you from every angle as you curl over to try and drown them out.

"EVERYONE BACK UP! HAVE SOME RESPECT AND GIVE HER SOME GODDAMN ROOM!"

Kirishima clears a small square around you, where he touches your back to try and calm you.

"Rei? Can you hear me?" he asks softly, but stern enough for you to understand. "Are you okay?"

"I-" you breathe out another shaken breath. "I think so..."

"Ochaco, how the hell did you do that?" Amelie asked, turning to her rattled friend. "Was that really you?"

"I...really don't know..." she looks down numbly at her hands as if she didn't recognise them. "I tapped her, and my fingers kind of glowed... and when I put them together...she fell."

Uraraka slowly looked up.

"...Just like the pen."

"Okay. What the hell does that mean?"

"Guys. Y/N just f*cking flew." Niko says, just as shocked as the rest of you. "How the hell did Y/N fly, and how the hell was Ochaco the one controlling it!?"

Their words are sinking into your skull like fingernails on a chalkboard. Your brain was running a million miles per second, and the loud chatter around you wasn't helping you pull yourself together.

Kirishima is silent, looking at you with your eyes winced closed.

"I don't know..." Uraraka nearly whispers. "I don't know what happened."

"Guys." Kirishima looks up. "I'm sure we can figure out what the hell that was later. For now, i'm taking Rei to the infirmary."

Kirishima tucks his arms under your stiff, shivering body, giving you no time to disagree. He scoops you up and stands tall, walking off the field.

"Uraraka! Don't touch anyone, or anything, for now."

She nods anxiously, looking back down at her hands that had completely betrayed her.

—————

"I'm okay, Kiri. Really."

He sits patiently on the stool beside your tiny bed in the infirmary. He had been waiting with you for the last hour while the teachers worked to try and calm everyone down.

You were glad he was with you - you wouldn't know how to navigate Ochaco's panic attack right now.

"I know you are," he smiles, "But that still must have shaken you up. Whatever happened out there had to be paranormal, or something."

Your eyes go wide with expression, "Yeah. I really have no idea what that was. It was so weird, I couldn't explain it if you paid me."

"You don't need to," he smiles, "I saw it."

"Right," you laugh, letting your head fall back against the bed pillow. You let out a deep belly sigh. "Thanks for not letting me go."

"Hm?"

"Who knows what would have happened if you didn't grab me? I could have floated all the way up to space."

Kirishima keeps looking at you, "I'd rather not think of that."

"Me neither." you groan, "f*ck. Weird sh*t."

You stare at the ceiling, trying to make sense of what had happened, but no matter what you tried to think of, everything always came to an explosive dead end.

You can hear Kirishima ruffling around a little, shifting on his seat, and it grabs your attention.

You sit up a little and look at him.

"Look, Rei. I really need to speak with you after school." he claims stubbornly, looking at you with a daring intent. "It's important, and it has to be you."

You stare at him somewhat confused, but it wasn't hard to see that he wasn't joking.

You swallowed.

"Okay, but I have to get home after school." you admit. "You want to meet me at mine?"

"That'll work." Kirishima nods, breaking eye contact to pull his phone from his pocket. "What is your phone number?"

Chapter 3: News Report

Chapter Text

EIJIROU:
i'm on my way there now
that ok?

Y/N:
yeah. i'm home.
text when ur here

EIJIROU:
okay

EIJIROU:
i'm here

————

You opened the door to him, both of you looking equally rattled.

You offered a tired smile and let him inside, leading him up the stairs to your bedroom, gesturing for him to be quiet.

Once you closed the door behind you, you were able to talk.

"So, what's up? Are you okay?"

Kirishima chews at his nails, walking over to your bed and sitting in the edge of it. He looks down at the floor, seemingly unable to make eye contact with you.

"...I think I need help."

His eyes are wide and you can see how scared he looks. It's infectious, as you start to grow nervous too.

You walk over and sit beside him on the edge of the bed, looking at him. "What is it?"

"Well...I-" he pauses, trying to restrain himself. "I-"

You reach forward and gently move his hand away from his mouth, urging him to stop biting his nails.

"It's okay." you whisper. "What happened?"

He takes a deep breath, and it looks like he has a little more clarity. "You-you know how I told you I got this scratch?"

Ah. Here it is.

"Yeah?"

"I mean...it wasn't a lie," he nearly shrugs, his breathing uneven. "But it wasn't the whole truth."

"Mhm." you stay silent, patiently.

"Well, I don't even know what the truth is," he argues with himself. "I just...I was rubbing my eyes in the morning, like usual. I was just waking up. And then, I felt this pain, and I opened my eyes and my right hand was..."

"Was what?" the curiosity was overwhelming.

"It was like...rock solid. Like it had all these weird sharp ridges, and it was so hard. It randomly went that way, and that's how I cut my eye," he goes on. "I stared at it and held it with my other hand to make sure I wasn't imagining it. And I wasn't." he turns to face you with pleading eyes, "Rei, I wasn't imagining it."

"I believe you." you say.

"R-Really?"

But did you really believe him?

It was certainly not the type of story you hear on the daily. But, considering what happened to you today, this felt like a walk in the park.

"Of course."

Kirishima is on the verge of tears, like he's about to go into a mental breakdown.

"Look, I don't know why that happened to you. Or what happened to me today. But something weird is going on," you assure, talking firmly so that he could at least have your voice to rely on. "And we're going to figure out what."

"Y/N! GET DOWN HERE!"

Your eyes sink in panic. "Oh, no."

"What? Is that your mom?" he asked.

"sh*t. I thought she was asleep." you cuss, "Alright, you stay here. I'll be back."

"Hell no." Kirishima stands up. "No real man would see the face you just made and let you go down there alone."

You smile, not really understanding why.

But it was a nice feeling.

Seeing that he was able to see through your sh*t, and was willing to stand by you despite it.

Then, you reach forward and grab his hand. "Let's go-"

Your shocked gasp fills the silent room.

You and Kirishima both look down at the hand you're holding, to find it seized up and hard in your embrace.

The ridges crawl all the way up his arm, and Kirishima was right - it's rock solid.

You both stare at each other in terror.

"f*ck," you hiss, cursing the colossal poor timing of this whole thing. "Come on."

You hold onto his hard hand and drag him out of your room. He doesn't say a word, he's just glad you actually got to see it.

As you're running down the stairs, you don't even realise his hand goes soft again. Nor does he. Your main focus is your mom.

You see her standing unsteady on her feet in front of the TV.

"Mom?"

"Aint that you?" she slurs, pointing towards what was on the screen. "Eh?"

You and Kirishima freeze completely still as you stare at the broadcast.

"In breaking news: a student from Musutafu Heights High has been captured on video by her classmates, in a stunning new clip. Now look closely as the student appears to be physically floating above her peers, in mid air, during the school's lunch break. Here, you can see other students holding onto her limbs, desperate to keep her from floating away!"

You gasp.

You are on the news. Flying.

"It has been confirmed that this footage is not tampered with. We have had over thirty submissions of all different angles, of this bizarre phenomenon that occurred in the middle of a regular school day! Now, this is certainly not the first abnormality that has been reported over the last few days."

Kirishima's grip on your hand tightens.

"There have been multiple children being recorded as having developed 'quirks of character', as scientists are calling it. These quirks are bringing people super-power like abilities. It's something right out of a movie. As the days go by, more and more of the youth are developing these quirks. We ask that you keep an eye on your child or anyone you might know that ranges between the ages of five, and eighteen, which is where the most abnormalities have been recorded. Your government is well aware and focusing on being diligent in resolving this bizarre issue as soon as possible. The police force has issued an official claim that any and all use of these quirks is illegal, and anyone who uses these powers will be committing an act of treason. They will not be used as weapons, in hopes of upholding the peace. But for now, everyone please be careful. These quirks, like seen in this video, are spawning out of thin air."

Then what rolls over the screen is a series of ads.

"That's you, ain't it? You're flyin'," your mom groans, sticking both her arms out. "Zoooom."

You look towards Kirishima and he looks blankly confused.

"She's drunk," you mouth silently. "Let's go back upstairs."

"Ayeeheheheheheh~"

——————

Night had fallen a few hours ago.

You and Kirishima had spent all afternoon in your room, talking about what you had seen on the news.

You had both surfed the internet for every single video you could find that had been posted over the last few days, hoping to find footage of others who had developed 'quirks'.

You had seen a few interesting ones. Including a video posted on Twitter, of a man using some sort of bionic shark hand mutation to rob a gas station.

"If this thing gets any worse," Kirishima mumbled in fear, "It could get really messy."

"I know, it's scary to think about. That guy barely looks our age. If people are already having the guts to use whatever the hell these powers are for bad, it really shows how fragile our society is." you anxiously bit your nails, looking at your phone screen. "It's all happening so fast."

"I agree. It's so disappointing to see how quickly people are turning to crime with these powers," he mumbled vaguely in thought, "If I got any other power, i'd definitely use it for good."

Kirishima had been practicing hardening his hand over and over since you both got back upstairs. You weren't sure how to feel about it, but it was very interesting to watch. At some point, he had even got his other hand to harden.

"You totally could." you sat up a little, putting your phone down. "Imagine you were in that gas station: you could probably just slap that guy and he'd fall unconscious. You could've stopped it."

Kirishima looked down at both hands. "Hm...Maybe I could have."

"Imagine if you could harden your whole body!" the thought started to excite you. "You could probably blow through walls, like a human battering ram. Imagine all the good things you could do around the world with that."

He seemed to be dazed in thought, lost in an imaginative world where he was a hero.

You thought it would suit him.

But, you couldn't quite shake the feeling of guilt that came with getting excited over such a dangerous epidemic taking over the world.

If you weren't careful, things could get ugly fast.

"Hey, should we call Ochaco? Maybe she hasn't seen the news," you thought aloud. "It would be interesting to see if she's experimenting with that power. I also just wanna see how she's doing."

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

You stood up from your place at the foot of the bed, and walked over to your study desk.

Your room was pretty dark, lit only by your nightlight which was a plasma globe lamp on the desk. So, you had to hold your hands out to ensure you didn't trip or hit anything, although your eyes had adjusted to the darkness.

When you made it to your desk, you reached down to pickup your laptop.

That is when you heard the buzzing sound.

You paused still, holding the laptop in one hand, and slowly looking around the area to where the odd sound seemed to be coming from.

What is that?

Your eyes landed on the plasma globe.

Strikingly, all of the arms and beams of plasma ball were pointing towards you, touching the sides of the globe in your direction.

It was buzzing louder than it ever had before.

"What the..."

It seemed like the beams were screaming and desperate to get to you, which was unnatural for the device.

You narrowed your eyes and leaned a little closer to it. Confused by the electronics' behaviour, you reached out a single finger towards it.

The buzzing got even louder and then the glass case exploded.

"AH!"

"REI!"

You looked the other way, shielding your eyes from the glass with one arm and holding out a flat palm towards the explosion.

The buzzing sound was now so loud that it was vibrating the air in the room.

But...nothing had happened?

Slowly, you turned back around, peaking one eye over your forearm.

You gasped as you saw the loud, angry plasma rays were pouring out of the device, and right into your open palm.

The zapping energy created a line between you and the centre of the rod.

You turned to Kirishima, your body frozen, eyes wide and your whole face in terrified shock.

Kirishima slowly stood up, as he glanced at the crazy purple, zapping current between your hand and the machine. Then, he looked back at your face.

"Rei...your eyes are glowing."

Chapter 4: Revolutionary

Chapter Text

"Okay. Try again."

"You sure?"

"Duh! We can't stop now!"

You laugh, sitting across from Kirishima on two beach towels spread across the floor on your bedroom.

In the centre of the towels, between you two, the plasma globe sat. Or, what was left of it. There were burn marks in the towels around it, and the chord ran off to the nearest outlet.

Kirishima held his finger over the switch on the device, looking up at you with a cheeky grin. "You ready?"

You sighed, rolling your shoulders back and trying to hide your smile which was equally as conniving.

Kirishima flicked the switch on, and the zapping sound from the centre of the rod sounded out over the silent room.

No barbs or any plasma seemed to be coming out, which you expected since the glass wasn't there and you had already done this fifty times, so your next move was to move your hand closer to it.

"Three...two..." you looked down at the ball, focusing, before your eyes illuminated purple. "One."

A bright barb of purple surging plasma pulled out of the centre of the ball. It crawled to your hand, and the current sat in a steady line between you.

You felt it in your blood.

In your whole body.

But it didn't hurt. In fact, it felt good. This hot, surging running through your veins. It felt like you were born for this.

You then brought out your left hand, holding it about a foot away from your right, and focused your attention hard on moving the current.

Then, the plasma jumped to your other hand, creating a line between both hands and the rod.

"Okay. Turn it off."

Kirishima listened and turned off the plasma globe machine.

And the plasma charge remained between your palms.

Your eyes were wide with wonder as you brought your hands closer together, and then pulled them apart again. The beam between them was moving around in microscopic zig-zags, and buzzing in your ears.

You could feel it in every single inch of your body, and you could feel the control. It was amazing for you, and equally so for Kirishima to watch. He had certainly never witnessed anything like it before.

This was revolutionary.

You had a lot more power over this thing than you expected to.

You didn't know why it was happening, or why you were able to control the plasma - but you knew it had to do with some sort of power you had developed.

But there was more.

"Alright. You think you can you do it?"

"I know I can." you grinned.

Then, your eyes turned back to normal and the surge between your hands fizzled out into a small line of smoke that floated up and away.

You kept your hands in the same position, and knitted your brows in hard concentration. Your focused eyes bounced back and fourth between your two empty palms.

And then, your eyes turned purple again.

Kirishima's smile starts to grow larger and his eyes become wider as he watches both of your hands slowly start to glow.

Tiny zapping sounds come from them, and he decides to stay quiet as to not disrupt your focus.

Suddenly, a spark from each hand and a powerful beam flies out of both palms, linking in the centre, and creating another plasma link.

You both gasp loudly.

"You did it!" Kirishima cheers, putting both hands in the air. "Do you know what this means?"

Your smile is wide in celebration and you can't take your eyes away from the beautiful light between your hands. You carefully raise and lower the intensity of the beam at your disposal in absolute bewilderment.

"Not really!" you say with a huge smile.

"Not only can you control this electric matter with your hands," Kirishima looks down at the switched-off plasma globe, then back up at you. "But you can freaking create it!"

Your mouth drops open, your smile tripling in size.

...He's right.

You just generated plasma in your hands.

That was absolutely a first for human kind.

—————

"This is so cool!"

An hour later, you and Kirishima are still sitting on the towels on the floor. However, the plasma globe is in the bin.

There was no need for it anymore.

You were your own plasma conductor.

Kirishima leans in very close to a tiny little plasma beam coming out of the tip of your single pointer-finger, about an inch in length. It was a tiny little baby squiggle, dancing around happily at your disposal.

You had ticked off a lot of firsts tonight.

"Can I touch it?" he whispered. "It looks so touchable."

"I don't know," you laugh at his question. "Can you touch it? It could be dangerous. We should research it first."

"I'm a hands-on learner," he says. And out of pure awe and instinct, he reaches his single finger up towards the tiny, purple lightning bolt.

You were hesitant to let him, unsure of what would happen. But he was hellbent, and there was probably going to be no talking him out of it.

As soon as his finger gets about a centimetre away, the barb naturally pulls towards him and makes contact with his finger.

"YOW!" Kirishima screams in uncontrolled panic, twitching backwards and landing right on his back on the floor, both knees in the air.

"sh*t!" You immediately disengage your quirk, leaning forward. "Are you okay, Kiri!?"

A little tuft of smoke was left behind in the air.

Slowly, Kirishima groans while he sits back up.

He is nursing his poor finger and his hair is sticking up in crazy spikes as if he'd been electrocuted.

And, in one sense, he had.

"That was way more painful than I was imagining," he admitted in a daze, maybe in shock a little.

You cover your mouth with your hand, desperately trying to hold back your laugh.

Kirishima's lips press into a flat line before he sniffs the air a few times. "Hm. I think I smell burning flesh."

Wow. It really is the sassy man apocalypse.

"Oh my god," you laugh into your palm, trying to contain it with all of your will as to not embarrass him. Then, you stand up. "Come on, you dork. We have to run that under cold water."

Kirishima follows your lead, and remains deadly quiet (as you so threatened) and he tails closely behind you in the hall, until you make it to the bathroom.

You fiddle around in the cabinets for the first aid kit, rubbing burn-solution on his suddenly blistering skin. After apologising profusely a thousand times and wrapping up his finger in a mini cast, you both head back to the room.

"Sorry about your hair," you say, reaching up to ruffle it.

"No, actually I like this look. I might keep it," he catches a glimpse of himself in your mirror and shamelessly checks himself out. "I'll have to get you to electrocute me every morning before school. That cool?"

"Yeah, sure. No problem." You laugh at his sarcasm, "Hey...should you be getting home soon? sh*t, how'd it get so late! It's almost three-AM."

He looks down and pulls his phone from his pocket, "Well, my mom knows i'm with a friend," he mumbled. "Plus, I was hoping we could see what else you can do. Can I stay a little longer? Just one more? I have an idea."

You chuckle, "Sure. But, if the lights start flickering, we're calling it a night."

"Promise."

You both laugh and sit back down criss-cross on the towels.

—————

Fifteen minutes later, you are both dead asleep.

You are sprawled out like a man who's been shot, across the floor, limbs pointing in every direction. Your mouth is open and you're drooling.

Beauty personified.

Kirishima, on the other hand, is perfectly manicured like a sleeping princess, sleeping on his side with a little smile and dainty snores. His head is resting on your stomach.

You snore in unison, as the night ticks by, and the faint smell of smoke rests in the air.

Chapter 5: Dangerous

Chapter Text

At first break, you are leaning against your palm, nearly asleep on the table. Kirishima is standing beside you, rocking as if he's about to fall over. You have matching under-eye bags the size of Venus, and you both look ready to kill.

"Holy sh*t, who sucked the life out of you two?"

You try to blink yourself awake as Niko and the others approach. "Don't even start."

"Are you sitting with us today, Kirishima?" Midoriya joins in, placing his food onto the table beside him.

"Uh, no, it's okay buddy." Kirishima straightens up and tries to be nice to your friends as they all sit around you at the table. "Just walked Rei-chan out. I better get back to my friends."

"Okay! See ya."

"Bye Midoriya. Have a good day, everyone!" He smiles and waves sweetly, but everyone can tell he's exhausted.

"Bye, Rei."

"Bye!" you muster up a tired wave too.

"So, uh, what the freaking heck was that?" Ochaco comes out of nowhere. "That was totally flirting!"

"Uugghhhh, not today, please," you groan, dropping your head down to the table. "I'm too tired for your guys' questions."

"Are we gonna brush past the 'Rei-chan' thing? That was so cute!"

"They're totally getting married."

Since this was the reaction when Kirishima had just said a simple goodbye to you, you had no intentions to break the news that he had spent the night at your place.

No amount of words would be enough to explain yourself.

So you lay your head back down against your forearms on the table, and let your eyes rest, even if it's just for a few seconds before the next conversation starts up again.

"So, you guys saw the news?"

"Yeah! It's so crazy out there! People are just popping up with super powers, left, right and centre!" Amelie goes on. "I'm so jealous! I hope I get one."

"I saw someone flying on my way to school this morning."

"HUH?!"

"Yeah!"

"What about you, Ochaco? How is it going living life with a f*cking super power?"

"Oh, heh, I mean. It's definitely weird. My parents were suuuper shocked when I told them." she nervously rubs the back of her neck. "And, I um...well, you can't tell anyone, but uh, last night, I spent a bit of time kind of practicing. And now I can control when I make something float or not. So, hopefully, I won't have anymore accidents."

Before her sentence was up, Niko had already shoved a pen in her face.

"Show us."

"Wha- WHAT? No! They said it's illegal! Especially in the middle of the cafeteria! I can't!"

"Oh, please. It's all anyone is talking about anyway! No one is going to care."

"Yeah! You gotta show us!" Amelie begs, "And they're only saying it's illegal so people will stop using their new powers to rob places."

"Well..."

Nervously, Uraraka takes the pen. She looks around her vicinity a few times to make sure no one is looking, and then holds the pen out in front of your faces.

Then, she lets it go. And it stays there, in the air.

It floats.

"Wow," Amelie whispers in amazement, instinctively reaching forward and poking it with one finger.

The pen does a flip and spins around in the air, completely defying gravity.

"And see, I can do this now," Uraraka brings the ten tips of her fingers together, and a pink glow emits from them. Suddenly, the pen falls and hits the table.

"Well, it's a good thing you can control it now," Niko states the obvious, nudging you and raising his eyebrow annoyingly. "Ain't it, Y/N? Eh? Eh?"

"f*ck off." You shove him away jokingly. Then, you turn to Ochaco, "Ochaco, I hope you don't think i'm upset with you for what happened yesterday. I think it's really cool that you have this power. And i'm really happy you're learning to control it."

She smiles at you. "But, I really am sorry for it. I mean, you were on national television!"

"Don't remind me," you laugh.

Everyone around you giggles at the memory, each of them having received the video from different people, but refusing to show you out of pity.

You bite your lip as a thought passes you by.

They're your best friends. You should tell them.

"Actually, guys...I've got something to tell you."

Everyone tunes in immediately, devoting every spare inch of attention to you and what you were going to say.

"Last night...I, uh," you hesitated for a moment. But ultimately decided that it was best to tell them. "I developed a power too."

"WHAT!?"

Niko's voice overlaps every other one in the cafeteria, bringing the whole room to an eerie silence as the word echoes through the walls.

You all look around nervously, turning completely red with embarrassment.

It takes about thirty seconds for the cafeteria to get back to its usual noise.

"Y/N, are you serious?" Midoriya asks quietly. "This is crazy! So many people are getting them!"

"I'm serious. And i'll show you, but you have to promise not to go around telling people. Okay? It could be dangerous."

"Of course!"

"But it's cool before it's dangerous, so hurry up and show us!"

You bite your lip to hide your grin, knowing that she's right.

It is cool before it's dangerous.

"Alright, everyone huddle in close," you mumble and everyone quickly leans in over the table, pulling their heads together to create a wall around the middle.

You place your open hand in the middle of the group, and everyone looks down at it.

In a second, it starts to glow and zap before a sizzling, gleaming ball of plasma starts to manifest in the centre of your hand.

Sparks and bolts of purple and white are zapping out around the centre of it. The others feel the heat coming off it instantly.

And two seconds later, you close your fist and it fizzles out into smoke.

You lean back and sit down again with a proudness on your face that could not be wiped off.

Everyone is astonished, jaws hanging low as they very slowly lean back into their places again.

You almost laugh at their reactions.

"What the hell is that...?"

"You just made...electricity?"

The others slowly start to sit down, completely astonished by what they had just seen.

"Well, plasma. Yeah."

"What's plasma?"

"Technically, it's a type of ordinary matter. It's it's own thing, a sort of mix between electricity and just like...heat. It's a superheated, electrically charged gas. It's like really hot. Like, can exceed several thousand degrees Celsius, but if the intensity is controlled-"

"Okay we're not scientists!" Amelie interrupts, "Tell us the good stuff!"

"Just tell us everything, Y/N!" Uraraka demands, "How did you figure it out? Can you control it? How strong is it?"

You nuzzle into your seat and try to wipe the smug grin off your face, but inevitably fail.

"Well, it all started when I stood next to my nightlight, and I heard a buzzing sound."

—————

It was the next day, and time for lunch again.

You carried your tray through the cafe, searching for your friends who seemed to have gone outside again.

They seemed to enjoy the warmth of the sun a lot.

You happily trotted outside, before you heard some screaming. Shouts and shrieks, some in terror, some in horror. You dropped your tray and sprinted through the doors, out into the madness.

A huge group of students swarmed around what seemed to be a brawl.

Without really thinking the situation through, you pushed your way through the crowd. You could see your friends on the side of the pit, and they looked way more horrified than anyone else.

"Y/N!" Ochaco calls.

You look into the centre of the chaos, and see Midoriya lying on the floor. He had a swollen left eye and standing over him, was the one and only: Bakugou.

"Why are you doing this, Kacchan!?"

"Quit f*cking calling me that you damn nerd!" He yells, his foot pressed against Midoriya's chest to hold him still. "You been getting on my nerves for way too long, it's time you learn when to shut the f*ck up."

You couldn't resist stepping in.

"OI!" you shout. You step into the open circle. They both look at you, and everyone else can't look away.

"Seriously? What the f*ck do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, f*ck off. I'm not giving you the time of day." he rolls his eyes and looks away, "Pathetic lame ass girl."

You're not going to give him the chance to hit Midoriya again.

"OI! I'm talking to you!"

You step over to him, grabbing him by the wrist and trying to discretely manipulate his body weight off of Midoriya's chest.

"I don't give a f*ck!" he pushes your hand away. "Quit pretending like you're gonna do anything."

The teachers will be here any second.

If you don't show this kid who you are soon, you might not ever get the chance to.

You glance down at your friend on the ground, covered in bruises and bleeding from his mouth. He's still smiling at you, but you can tell it hurts.

And Blondie can't get away with that.

You turn back to Bakugou, immediately using all of your strength to grab his arm once more, redirecting his wrist and twisting, forcing his torso to spin. You fold his arm up behind his back, and use all of your body weight to push him off of Midoriya.

Knowing you only had a second or two while he was still in shock to really make your impression, you don't hesitate to sweep your foot under his legs, making him fall flat on the ground.

"UGH!" he grunts as his chest hits the dirt.

The crowd gasps in fear for you as you drop down on top of him. You sit on his back, and hold his arm pinned behind him.

"Stay the f*ck away from my friends!" you yell by his ear, "Stay the f*ck away from everyone!"

You glance down at his face pressed into the soil, and see him baring his teeth at you.

But your blood suddenly runs cold when you see his scowl pull up into a grin.

sh*t, what's he-

You hear a faint sparking sound.

You look down to where his hand is against his back, his palm pointing right up at your chest.

You don't have any time to think about what the sound is, before you notice it's coming from his hand.

"f*ck. You."

That is when an explosion blows you away.

Chapter 6: Firepower

Chapter Text

When the smoke starts to clear and you finally cough some air back into your lungs, you slowly start to sit up.

The front of your uniform is covered in black soot. Half of the shirt is burnt off, but luckily, you had worn a singlet beneath it.

You could hear your heartbeat pumping in your ears.

What the hell was that?

The students around you had all spread right out, giving the entire field to you and Bakugou. They were shocked and terrified, and partially forced back by the explosion.

Ochaco would have immediately run over to help you up, if she herself wasn't blown away by the explosion.

Everyone was speechless after the smoke cleared.

Everyone except for Bakugou.

"Should have minded your f*cking business." he spits, standing up and glaring at you, his one hand smoking. "Now look at you."

Your eyes are wide as you very slowly start to register what had happened.

Bakugou seemed to notice, the way a grin peeks through his lips.

"Yeah. Your friend isn't the only one who got a power." he boasted, both of his hands starting to spark this time. "Only difference is, mine's actually useful."

"You actually just used a quirk to attack me?" You cough, slowly standing up one leg at a time. "That's bold."

"Yeah, and i'll use it to do a lot worse to you."

"Are you insane? That's treason, dumbass." you stand before him, your body shaking. "All these people just caught you on video committing a federal crime."

"Oh like I give a f*ck," he almost laughed. "It's only punishable if you're committing an actual crime. That was self defence!"

"...You don't actually believe that, do you?"

"Of course I do, you dumb f*cking bitch."

"Alright." a new energy washes over you, a calmness floods your features. It was as if you could feel the plasma cursing through your veins, growing without your permission. "If that's how you wanna play it."

He needs to be humbled.

And who else is better suited? Nobody else stands up to him. No one else can.

It's basically your obligation at this point.

Your arms start to sizzle, that familiar buzzing sound, taking the crowds' attention. At the sound and static in the air, everyone starts to back away even further.

A few screams rocket out over the field.

They were witnessing history being made, and it wasn't exactly casual.

A bright light starts to shine from the palms of your hands.

"I guess it's my turn, then."

Bakugou's face drops in horror as he realises what is happening.

"You-" He looks down at your hands. "You got a power too?"

"Yep."

You muster up the power in your hands like you had practiced. Your mind is blank as your quirk seemingly takes over whatever logical thinking you had five seconds ago. The power had taken over you. And then, it leads you to hold out your arm in front of you, flat-palmed, before you shoot a beam of plasma at Bakugou's left foot.

Reacting and full of adrenaline, he jumps away from it and dives onto the floor, instantly looking back at the damage.

He looks to where you had shot to see a small burning, smoking crater in the ground.

"Well, what the f*ck is it!?"

Just five seconds later, you have tackled Bakugou again, and pinned both of his wrists to the floor with your hands.

He is on his back on the dirt and you're holding him there.

"Something that requires me to hold a lot back if I don't want you dead," you growl harshly in his face. "So I wouldn't test it, if I were you."

Both of you are bright red.

He is a raging mix of seething anger, and a tiny bit of fear.

Your hot palms are zapping and Bakugou's face contorts in pain as he realises that you're burning into his wrists where you're holding them.

"If you wanna fight for real, let's do it somewhere we won't get some serious charges, 'kay dipsh*t?" you raise your eyebrows, "You wanna settle this for real? Let's not get arrested in the process."

"...Fine!" he spits, getting angrier by the second. "Saturday."

You nod and decide to get off him before your grip melts his hands clean off his body. You stand up, staring down at him and fighting the urge to kick him in the ribs.

"Saturday it is, then."

"Tch." he tosses some dirt up as he stands up, clutching his wrists which had started to blister. "Cant wait to f*cking murder you."

"Likewise." you finally end it, and walk away.

—————

You are back at home with Ochaco, watching TV on your couch.

Your mother is asleep, and you're both enjoying some cookies that you baked together after school.

You had talked a lot about your fight with Bakugou.

You tried to figure out how he can create explosions in his hands, but it always came back to you not even understanding how you yourself can create plasma.

You talked about how your fight was going to go down, and you seriously considered flaking.

Both of your quirks could quite easily kill each other. They were almost equally as dangerous, with yours just taking the crown. But you didn't have enough control of it yet to actually use it in an effective battle.

Like, what the f*ck? This kid wants to battle?

He's just as bad as the criminals.

At that thought, the show you were watching cuts out as a news broadcast shows up.

"Breaking news: chaos is erupting all over the city! More and more people are developing these quirks, up to eighty percent of people from the ages of four to eighteen! And the number of people using them to commit crimes have quadrupled over night! Robberies, murders, and all sorts. Numbers are rising! The chief of the police force has come out with a statement, and i'll read it to you now."

You glance at Ochaco who looks very nervous.

"People are being bad."

Then you look forward again.

"People has been given a chance to break every law holding society together. I'm not surprised to see so many people jumping at the idea of climbing the power ranks."

"We need you. We need young people with good hearts to step up now, more than ever. It is not without shame that I am forced to reach out to the public, but there will be no future for us as a society if we cannot fight back against the rebels. We need the young people who developed strong special abilities, to use their gifts, to step up, and to protect their country. In three months, we will be holding tryouts to a new training facility opening up at the start of the following month. This is a training program, where we want to collect and train the elites, and bring everyone morally righteous together, to counteract the power of the bad people taking over the city. We need to prioritise leadership, and maintain the status quo. We need you. We need to introduce crime fighting quirk users. Please, if you develop a quirk that could be useful, take the plunge, sign up for the entrance exam, and help be the change that Japan needs."

"They're opening a facility? That could be smart."

"This is urgent. Things are not looking good. The government has already introduced quirk counselling for the parents with children who might need a hand learning how to use their powers responsibly. And, there is a new team of pros who are trained in the military, and the special forces that have stepped up to fight against all the antagonists. But, we still need young people. We need to use these powers that show no signs of ceasing, to help! We need young blood. Energy. Passion. We need people with a drive to do good, to uphold the law and to protect the people who have no chance against the rebels with quirks!"

You don't even think twice.

The answer bubbles to the surface faster than you can keep track of.

"We could do it." you say to her. "You and me, we could sign up."

"What?"

"Let's do it." You grab her hands tightly, "Let's be a part of the movement."

You bite your lip, illuminated by the idea of this opportunity.

"Let's be the heroes."

Chapter 7: Recruiting

Chapter Text

"So, are any of you going to sign up?"

"No way! I don't even have a quirk yet."

"Me neither. I couldn't do anything good."

"I don't have a quirk yet either, but I'm still going to join." Midoriya says. "Even if I don't get in, i'll do my best. I want to help people!"

"That's what i'm talking about!" you grin, "Hell yeah! We'll sign up together."

"Well, I can't, even though Y/N tried to convince me to join last night, there's still no way i'd be able to help with my quirk." Ochaco looks at her hands. "All I do is make stuff float."

"No! You can do so much more! I told you, just think about it," you begin, shifting on your seat to face her. "Imagine an old lady is stuck under a cement pillar, and you go and tap it and it lifts off her! You could make evil people completely immobile and trap them by making them float, you could get rid of explosives by throwing them up to space! You could move massive loads of sh*t from one place to the next quickly with almost zero manpower, you could safely transport someone with broken legs! Ochaco, the possibilities are endless!"

Her eyes start to sparkle.

"You could save people. And at the end of the day, that's what they need!"

"Wow...you almost got me wanting to sign up just then." Niko jokes.

"Do it!" you smile, "Everyone can!"

"But-"

"Nobody is going to have a golden ticket into the school. I mean for one, my quirk is super destructive. I've been trying to think of how I can help people with it, and unless it comes down to killing or breaking sh*t, my possibilities are pretty limited."

"That's not true, Y/N!" Midoriya argues. "You have strong firepower that could be beneficial in combating the criminals."

"I hope the public doesn't start to riot," Amelie grumbles nervously. "This could turn out to be preeeetty dystopian if people get any angrier."

"I know, we're on thin ice as a society." you agree, "That's why it's important for us to apply! I'm going to convince Kirishima later. And maybe even Bakugou. We need everyone we can get to at least apply."

"But really, those of us that don't have powers yet would stand no chance. It's not even worth trying."

"Izuku is going to prove you wrong." you turn to him with a convincing smile. "Aren't you?"

He smiles back at you, despite looking scared. "Yes."

You nod proudly. "Hell yeah."

"But there has to be so many people applying! It could be so difficult to pass the exam!"

"You can never have too many heroes."

"I'm sure Y/N will pass the exam with flying colours," Niko argues. "There can't be very many people with that much crazy firepower. She got a strong quirk, and they're going to need people like her!"

"But how are you going to prepare for it, Y/N?"

You take a deep breath in.

"Guys, I need to tell you all that I'm going to be spending the next few months away from school. I really think I can help people and I need to prioritise that." you start to explain. "I'm going to spend as much time as I can training my quirk, so I can use it safely in time for the exam."

"Really? You're going to leave school?"

You nod with a reserved smile.

"But...what if you don't make it in? You'll have missed almost a whole term of class. Your attendance will be horrible and it'll be nearly impossible to catch up with us in time for exam season."

"Whoa, Ochaco. Such a debbie downer today."

You shrug your shoulders. "That's a risk i'm willing to take."

—————

"Kiri!"

"Hey, Rei! How are you?"

"I'm great! How are you? Did you see the news?" you ask, standing in front of him excitedly. "-About the new school that's opening."

"I did, it seems pretty cool. Are you thinking of applying?"

"No, I am applying. Nothings gonna stop me. And you should too!"

"You really think so?" Kirishima chuckles nervously and brings up his hand, quickly hardening it over and over. "I was actually thinking about it..."

"You totally should! You can come train with me if you'd like." You go on. "I'm gonna be training really hard to be able to control my power as much as possible, and you could do the same! I bet my left hand we can get your whole body to harden within the first week! And if we get into the school, you and I could be the heroes!"

"You're right! Imagine how cool it would be, wearing a sick costume and having a sick power that you can save people with! Fighting bad guys all day and bettering the world," he starts to imagine all the details of that lifestyle. "God, i'd be so happy if I could do all that."

"Well, now you can."

He looks at you and there is a fire in his eyes that is perfectly matching yours.

The thought inflames you both.

"You're really gonna do it?" he asks.

"Hell yeah I am." you nod profusely. "If I can use this power for good, I wanna help as many people as I can!"

"Well, then, I'm in. Should we sign up together?"

"Yeah!" you cheer, "I'm going after school with Izuku. Come with us!"

"Okay. I'll be there."

——————

"So, how do we know where to go on the day?"

"I guess they'll contact us closer to the date," you reply to Midoriya. "They asked for our contact details on the forms. I assume that's how we'll know."

"Hey, Midoriya, what did you write down in the quirk section? You had to explain what power you have, right?" Kirishima asks innocently, "What did you put down?"

"Uh," Midoriya nervously rubs the back of his head as the three of you walk. "I sort of just scribbled the word 'courage', but in a way that could be mistaken for another word. Hopefully they don't contact me for confirmation."

"Hey," you nudge him playfully. "Don't try and act like real courage isn't the strongest power of all."

"W-Well thank you, Y/N." he laughs and he seems like he doesn't fully believe it. "I know. I'm not going to let having no power stop me from the chance to really help people."

"You'll do great. I fully believe in you, Izu."

"I believe in you too, Y/N! And you, Kirishima! The three of us are going to do well, i'm sure!"

Smiling warmly at your friend, you pause walking when you feel your pocket vibrating.

"Hold on, guys. I'm getting a phone call."

They both stop walking and wait patiently for you to finish.

"Hey, Ochaco! What's up?"

"Hey, Y/N! Guess what."

"...What?"

"I've got news, and I get the feeling you'll be excited by it."

Your smile grows. "Well? Tell me!"

"I um...I signed up to the hero academy exam."

"...WHAT!? DID YOU REALLY?!"

"Heh... yeah, just finished up."

"OH MY GOD! YES!"

Kirishima and Midoriya stare at each other in confusion as you grip your phone with a huge smile on your face.

"I'm so proud of you! This makes me so happy!"

"Thank you! I only did it because of you, you know."

"No you didn't." you say firmly. "You did it because you're a good person and you know you can help people."

"...I-I don't know about that...anyway, it's done."

"This is going to be so good for us, Ochaco."

"Hmmm." she giggles into the phone, "Anyway! What are you doing right now? Wanna go get some food to celebrate!?"

"I'd love to! I'm with Kirishima and Midoriya right now, should I invite them?"

"I-Izuku is there?" she mumbles nervously. "I guess, yeah. It'll be fun with more people! All the future heroes-in-training together!"

"Haha! Hold on." you pause her to look up at the friends staring at you with blaring curiosity. "Wanna come with me and Ochaco to go get some food? She signed up for the hero academy! She wants to go celebrate."

"U-Uraraka signed up to the exam?" Midoriya replies. "Well...I mean, that's amazing!"

"I'm down for some grub." Kirishima shrugs, "That's super cool! You convinced her, right?"

"It didn't take much." You say. "She wants to help just as much as I do."

"That's rad. I'll shout her dinner as congratulations!"

You laugh, "Izuku?"

"O-Of course i'll come!"

"Okay!" you bring your phone back up to your ear. "Okay, they're coming. Let's meet at the food court in the nearest mall?"

"Sure thing! See you soon!"

You hang up the phone and the three of you happily trot away.

You were pulsing with excitement, adrenaline and the electricity running through your veins was enough to make your hairs stand up.

You were ready.

—————

"Mm," Ochaco says with her mouth full. "I wonder what the exam is gonna be like."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that too!" Midoriya joins in. "They've mentioned that there will be both a written exam, that you have to score crazy high in to pass! And then the practical exam comes second. My best guess for the practical is that it's going to be in some sort of arena where they can observe not only our powers, but our hero instincts, too! I think they'll individually pick out and closely monitor who's best suited! And since the amount of spots available in the school is so small, I bet they're-"

"Whoa, dude, at least take a breath."

"Heh, sorry Kirishima. I guess i'm just so excited, I've been thinking about this non-stop."

"So have I," you swallow a big mouthful. "I'm actually more nervous about the written than the practical. I have no idea what to expect, and i'm not the most academically-gifted person among us."

You had gathered together at a Korean-BBQ style restaurant, and you and your friends sat in a booth at the back.

"But what do you think the exams will be like?" you say, "Will it be like Math, English and stuff like that?"

"Granted, I think there will be a certain level of academia you need to understand to be accepted. But overall, my best guess is that most of the marks will come from anything that demonstrates a promising leader, or a hero." Midoriya talks with his mouth full, but is still very well-spoken. "That's what they're opening the school for, right? They need to train people who are going to be able to protect the city during these unpredictable times. It seems that everything we've ever known, is changing, and it's pretty awesome we get to live through it! I mean, this phase will definitely go down in the history books. Weather it's because we lived through that strange period where everyone started randomly getting super powers, or because we lived through the world changing directions completely. Maybe everyone will have powers for the rest of forever! But, still, it makes me kind of-"

"He's doing it again," Kirishima nudges your shoulder quietly.

Forking some pork into your mouth, you nod and roll your eyes. "Just smile and nod."

You glance across the table at Uraraka who is wide-eyed staring at Midoriya like she understands every single word. And she probably does, she had always paid close attention to him.

"No matter what happens, I just know that Japan needs our help right now."

"There have been riots, and huge groups of people attacking the smaller cities. There has been a lot of damage around. Lots of theft, lots of violence and destruction. People are angry and scared, and it's bringing out the worst in everyone." Midoriya says. "And so they need people like us to inspire them! To protect them when no one else can, and to do it all with a smile on our faces! We need to be confident, and calm."

"And we gotta have the skills to backup our confidence."

"Absolutely."

You smile and look at the people around you.

Everyone was so young and full of life and excited to help people. It was beautiful as it was contagious.

You were all going to try your best no matter what. And it was indescribably relaxing knowing that you could do it with these people beside you.

Whatever this next phase was going to bring your way, at least you'd have these friends by your side.

The same starting line; the same goal.

Amity.

Chapter 8: Plasma Power

Chapter Text

You are on a huge, abandoned golf field.

You'd be indebted to Niko forever for mentioning the place, the next time you saw him. It was the perfect place for you to train, with no people anywhere nearby.

After a few days of silently observing the area, it seemed completely void of humans, even ones that could happen to be wondering through.

It was the perfect place to spend the summer fine-crafting your new quirk.

You had been here for two hours already.

Your body seemed to be adjusting to the new movements and skills very quickly. You practiced shooting different sizes, and different varieties of attacks. You were figuring out your style.

And what was even more exhilarating, was that the electromagnetic bolts running through your veins, gave you a type of endurance you never knew possible.

It was like you were constantly charging, never at risk of a low battery.

You thought it was too good to be true, though. There had to be a limit.

It was night time, almost 9PM, meaning the huge field would be completely dark if it weren't for the bright purple light that had been slashing through the sky and into the grass around you.

It was amazing that your body was miraculously able to withstand temperatures high enough to burn the entire field black. You ruined the grass, and cooked even the soil. And your body had manifested this resistance so incredibly fast.

Especially since just two weeks ago, you burnt yourself on a measly piece of chicken.

Now, you seemed to be completely fire resistant.

However, your quirk is not fire.

It has proven on this night to be able to start fires, but in an area that is surrounded by thick trees, you had withheld from creating fires, because of the risk of them getting out of hand.

You didn't exactly have a portable fire extinguisher.

And still, you weren't yet sure if you were able to walk through fire or anything hotter than what a normal person could withstand. One day soon, you would have to figure out your limits.

And then, you'd figure out how to surpass them.

Recently, you had gotten very familiar with just how much you can and can't do.

And at the rate that you were able to improve the amount of control you had, you knew there would be plenty of room for you to break your own records.

Sitting on the floor, surrounded by a circle of smoking grass, you clench your hand open and closed, lost in thought.

Plasma is a matter similar to gas, but it exists at very high temperatures or in the presence of electromagnetic fields. In your case, it was both. As it is generated inside your body, and is essentially a mixture of positively and negatively charged particles that conduct electricity.

Housing this in your body had been an experience, to say the least.

You'd been practicing generating both, intense heat and electromagnetic fields, inside your bloodstream. These absurd skills are what give you the ability to both summon and shape plasma effectively, and at will.

You'd learnt a fair bit about the logistics of how you can use your fascinating power to help in messy situations, rather than just destroying everything in its path.

Which, it absolutely has done.

You squint your eyes and wipe the sweat off your face as you glance at the left wing of the field, where a huge plasma blast had abominated everything it touched. A huge crater smoked between the trees, before the charge was luckily stopped by a dirt mound, built for the golfers.

The plasma has the ability travel in a straight line, powered by its own internal energy.

It is deadly and seems to think on its own accord, propelling through any roadblocks.

That is what happened to the trees. It had proven how destructive the plasma beams can be, when not properly controlled. It showed that it is capable of melting or vaporising most objects in its path, as it was only stopped once it buried a few metres into the ground before it inevitably fizzled out.

However.

It can also be expelled and revoked as a result of your actions, and control.

You can bring it back.

Return it back to your bloodstream, like a boomerang rather than a bullet.

After using the power pretty much non-stop since you began, you had been given plenty of time to observe how the plasma acts. If overused, it can interact with the air surrounding it, causing ionisation, and creating highly visible, glowing trails through the air.

But, where is the limit?

How much can you blast in one area before it is unsafe for others?

How much heat and electricity can your body withstand?

If you were struck by lightening, or stuck in a fire, would you survive?

Just days ago, these wouldn't even be questions passing by your mind. But now it's necessary, with these new abilities, as your mind opens up new paths, and new possibilities reveal themselves. Possibilities aren't always good, though. There were new risks, too.

You stand to your feet, clenching your eyebrows. You know you have to practice hard enough to figure it all out on your own.

And fast.

So first, you begin to stretch out your legs in preparation for the pending mobility training.

How can you use the power to manoeuvre your own body?

That was your focus tonight.

—————

Kirishima was making his way through the trees, dodging the rough foliage and smiling with excitement for the training to come.

He looked up into the sky through a gap in the leaves, and that was when he saw the beam.

A huge sky-climbing beam of zapping purple light, shooting up high. Higher and higher, and it wasn't slowing down.

"There she is!" he smiles, amazed by your bright firepower.

Then, he notices the beam fizzle out in the air.

And at the very top of it, he can see a dark figure float in the air. Kirishima squints in focus, unable to see clearly in the lowlight. Plus, it was difficult to make out anything through the trees.

Then, the figure zaps, outlining a body in the night sky.

"Wait..."

His heart beats hard and fast in his throat as the figure starts to fall back towards the ground.

A trail of smoke follows behind, as the body plummets towards the ground.

And as it approaches the floor, Kirishima is unable to breathe.

"No-"

Terror had taken control of his lungs.

But just as he feels like he's about to pass out, he sees another beam launch out at the last second.

The beam comes out of your feet this time, and hits the ground, seemingly stunting your fall. Then, you tip off the side of it again, disappearing from Kirishima's view behind the trees.

He doesn't wait another second.

Terrified, Kirishima bolts off his back foot and charges through the last of the trees, bursting out into the opening of the field.

His eyes search desperately, fear covering his face.

And then he sees you.

On the floor, smoke coming from your back, you are crouched over and puffing profusely.

"Rei!" Kirishima runs across the field, sprinting as fast as he can over to you.

In the short few seconds that it takes for him to make it to you, he drops to his knees by your side, placing his hand on your back. But he immediately pulls it away when he feels how hot your skin is. It's practically burning through your clothes.

You sit up and turn to look at him.

"Rei! Are you okay? What the hell was that!?"

You smile, your face dirty and your body still smoking.

"What do you mean?" you say cheerfully, catching your breath. "I'm training! And you're late."

"CRAP, DON'T DO THAT!" Kirishima leans back onto the floor, holding his chest and letting out a very deep sigh of relief. "I thought you were gonna die! You scared the hell out of me!"

You laugh out loud, "Sorry! I was practicing moving my body through the air. But...I haven't mastered the landing yet."

Kirishima sits up, looking at you. "You're learning to fly?"

"Not quite," you lean back to sit on your knees. "At this stage, i'm just blasting myself hopelessly into the sky. But when I come back down, it's really hard to slow down the landing."

Kirishima's eyes are wide, "Wow..."

"I want to figure out how to sort of walk on the beams, use the solid firepower as enough resistance, to slow down the crashing. I don't know, it's really hard. I can tell it's gonna take ages to get right."

"When did you even learn to shoot beams like that from your feet? I mean, what else can you do?"

"I don't really know the extent of it yet," you look down at your hands as you talk. "I just know that I can shoot it from pretty much everywhere. And i'm learning to restrict how big of a beam I shoot, and how powerful it is. Oh, and I can revoke beams I shoot if they're small enough, and bring it back to me. So if I shoot something on accident, I can bring it back before it hits it. Hopefully. I mean, the plasma moves really fast, and it can keep propelling itself with its own energy. Maybe forever, I don't know. There's a lot to learn."

"...You're kinda amazing, Rei."

You immediately lose your train of thought.

"Wha-"

"No, I mean it. Last time we practiced, the most you could do was hold a little beam between your hands. Now look at you! You're literally lighting up the night sky!" Kirishima's hands come out expressing his excitement. "The rate at which you're getting stronger is crazy quick! You're gonna have no trouble getting into the hero academy, i'm sure of it."

Your cheeks start to turn pink, "I can only hope, and do my best. And if I really have a shot at getting into the academy to train, i'm going to give it every ounce of strength I have!"

"We're definitely gonna make it in together!" Kirishima suddenly stands up, holding his hand down to you to help you to your feet. "Matter of fact, check out what I can do now!"

As his excitement is infectious, you stand and watch him with a huge smile.

Kirishima holds his arms by his side, and you can see him engage his quirk.

His whole body, even his face, hardens.

"Pretty cool, right?" He grins, demonstrating his new hardened state. Moving around, the sharp ridges of his body stick out to you.

"Whoa," on instinct, you reach up to touch his black hair, as it looks completely different.

The sharpness pricks your finger and a bead of blood rolls out, but you barely notice.

He's too amazing.

"You did it, Kiri. I knew you could," you grab his rock-hard shoulders and start to shake him with thrill. "You hardened your whole body! Do you know what this means!?"

He laughs, looking proud of himself.

"It means there is improvement to be done, I guess."

You nod, "It means you and I are gonna be the best heroes this world has ever seen."

Chapter 9: The Games

Chapter Text

Your progress in your training regime had proven to propel your skills.

Over the last three months of lonely, restless, sleepless days, you had come out the other side with an assortment of new skills. Your training had been strict, as you worked hard to fine-craft your physical body, and your quirk.

You and Kirishima worked tirelessly together. And you spent a huge portion of time with Midoriya and Uraraka, training with them too.

You could control it now, better than you ever thought you would be able to.

The last few months had not been easy, but you were sure it was going to pay off once you earned your Hero License.

There are over twelve thousand people applying for a place at the first ever Hero Academy.

And in your age category, there are three hundred people fighting for a measly thirty-five seats.

Meaning...

While you stand on your podium, the countdown ticking away in the background, you are painfully aware of the fact that the acceptance rate to U-A is an impeccably low 11.667%.

You narrow your eyes when the clock strikes '10'.

You have to make it in.

Eight.

With your strength, you can really help people.

Five.

Is that Bakugou over there? Since when did he sign up!?

Four.

Focus. You know you can do this.

Three.

You suck in a deep breath.

Two.

You trained for this.

One.

An eerie ring echoes over the large field, all of the hundreds of young people around you jump off of their podiums and start running to the centre of the huge field.

Chaos breaks out immediately.

It doesn't surprise you.

This wasn't a long exam, so you knew you had to make the time count. The others seemed to be going about that by charging into the anarchy and hoping for the best.

But you run off in the opposite direction.

Think, Y/N! What is the best thing to do?

You sprint as fast as you can, tracking your breaths and pumping your arms. You have so much adrenaline coursing through you that you know is going to help.

You know you can't just run into the centre and simply blast attacks at the other applicants. You'd just injure them, while doing no good. And there are plenty of people who are already doing that.

You have to do better than them. You have to find harmless ways to disable the opponents, while also protecting yourself.

There are two teams, in this exam. The red, and the blue. You're red. You each have a numbered band on your bicep, and yours reads '16'. The team contestants each carry a corresponding colour button on their chest, and on their lower back, to show their team.

The placement of the buttons was explained to be the most vulnerable part of your bodies as humans, which is why having those two areas being the target, it shows who is capable of defending their most delicate areas in tough times.

If one of the applicants can get close enough to push both of those buttons, a criminal can get close enough to kill you.

It made sense.

They designed everything to sift out the people that are the most promising heroes.

Whichever of the two teams has more players remaining at the end of the thirty minutes, gets an extra three points by default. However, each person is being recorded and assessed individually.

Behind you, all kinds of sounds are breaking out.

Screams and grunts, explosions and huge blows. Grass is flying, fire is catching.

You can't even keep track of what's going on behind you, but you know Bakugou had to be making a lot of that noise.

The speakers around the arena read out the number of each person as they are eliminated. Both of the buttons needs to be pressed to be eliminated, and they both turn grey if you are.

Three-five. Six. One-five. Four-zero. Two-eight-six.

sh*t. People are getting out faster than you expected.

As you run towards a semi-empty corner of the huge grassy arena, you take in your surroundings. There are trees everywhere that some people seem to be using as cover, which is smart. Maybe you could try that. As you redirect towards the tree line, you quickly look over your shoulder to ensure you're not being followed.

Chapter 10: Saving Grace

Chapter Text

"OH MY GOD!"

"Y/N!" Midoriya bounces up to his feet, running at you and embracing you in a hug.

"You're still in?" you ask, glancing at his buttons to see they're both still red. "That's amazing!"

"I'm not sure how, but i'm still in," he says proudly. "I really want this! And you too! You're still in!"

"Hell yeah I am!" you grin, "You and me are gonna win this thing! Even though you can't technically win..."

"Well, I've made some observations and already got some ideas."

Listening to some explosions in the distance that appear to be growing nearer, you are on edge. "Come on, let's get moving."

"Okay!"

The two of you start jogging side by side, aiming for the thickness of the tree line, to shelter yourselves and hopefully get a moment to conjure a plan.

"The blues are dominating down there! They're washing out the reds so fast. From what i've seen, they're highly reactive and impulsive in contrast to most of the reds! It almost seems like the game-makers picked the teams that way; the offensive versus the defensive," Midoriya thinks aloud as you both run down the tree line. "It seems unfair, but if that really is the case, we're in for a bad run when the blues come looking for us!"

"No. If that's really the case," you pause, "Then we got no choice but to save the other reds. They're in the deep end and we gotta protect our team!"

Midoriya's eyes were wide with astonishment by your side, as he admires your words.

"GOT SOME!"

You quickly look over Midoriya's shoulder, and you see a blue waving over some of her teammates.

sh*t.

"FOUND SOME REDS!"

Okay. There's no option but to fight.

"Izuku, get behind me." you step forward.

Midoriya can immediately feel the heat radiating off your body as you start to become engulfed in raging purple bolts of pure energy.

The plasma infects your veins as you face the others.

—————

"That was the coolest thing i've ever seen, Y/N," Midoriya helps you regain your balance, hesitant to touch your skin that was steaming. "I didn't know you had all of this fight in you!"

"Jiu jitsu," you claim with a grin. "My coach is a bastard."

"I bet your coach didn't teach you to do that."

You laugh.

In the intense battle against the other three, you had started by ruining the area around them. Shooting fast, strong beams on each side, trapping them inside walls of destructive flames.

The fire started eating at the trees, but you didn't have time to worry about that.

It was all so exhilarating.

You knocked them down one by one with smaller blows, knowing it was safer that way. You specifically threw beams that bounced back, so you could reabsorb the energy. In a matter of just three minutes, two of them were eliminated, and their numbers were called. Then, the third managed to get in close with some sort of shadow-like quirk.

You battled him tirelessly on the ground, using the new brute strength you had acquired over the last few months.

In the end, it came down to one move.

In the brawl, you grabbed the boy by the wrist, and shouted some enticing threat, before electrocuting him just enough to disable his body.

It was a new move.

As he became a spasming pile of raging limbs on the floor, you gave Midoriya the honour of pressing his last remaining button.

Then, you touched the boy's arm again and reversed the electrical current, bringing it back into your body.

He immediately stopped seizing and started catching his breath on the floor, muttering cuss words at his loss.

After they were all done, you recollected yourself.

You dusted off your hands, overwhelmed with adrenaline. "I think we should get to the centre as soon as possible. There had to have been at least two-hundred names called already, and time is running out."

You look over at Midoriya who seems distraught and nervous beside you.

Your gaze softens and your attention shifts to him.

"Listen. This is our last chance to prove that we will be worthy of protecting people in the real world. I know you have a good heart, and I want you to have a chance!" you say, "I understand if you want to stay here. It might be hard to defend yourself without a quirk, and it won't be worth getting injured. Especially not if we run into Bakugou."

You can see him visibly stiffen. A smile - real or fake, you can't tell - takes over his face.

"Bakugou is just a big grumpy villain." Midoriya says with an apparent change of heart. His demeanour shifts completely. "There's no way i'm gonna sit on the sidelines! There are reds that need our help!"

"All right!" you grin, "Let's get going, then! This is the last stretch!"

The two of you nod and run towards the open field again, exiting the trees and be-lining for the chaos.

Midoriya was right.

The blues were spread out wide, taking out every remaining red one by one. There were way more of them on the field than there were reds.

It was clear they had tipped the scales in their favour. But how had they done it? With impulsive aggression?

Is that a valuable quality for a hero?

No time to think about it.

Your eyes search quickly for the reds, for anyone that could be saved or at least helped. If you could build a large group of everyone left in the game, you could fight back against the blues.

But, apparently, that was already their idea.

"There!" you point to a group of two helpless reds surrounded by an entire gang of blues. "They need us!"

You run closer to them, but stay far enough to remain out of their field of vision, and then you hold out your finger gun again.

This was the best way for you to control how strong of a beam you conduct. By shooting it out of a small finger point, it can only be so big, by default.

"I'm shooting at them!" you widen your stance, closing one eye to aim them down.

"Okay! You keep the blues back, i'll run in and get the reds out!" Midoriya starts running down the last stretch of land. "GO, GO!"

Okay. Don't hit Izuku.

You clench your teeth as you aim down the target, a small patch of land between the two teams. Maybe about twelve inches wide. It was probably going to be your best chance, if you wanted to blast the blues back without killing anyone.

"Okay, medium surge," you whisper to yourself, and your eyes start to glow bright when your arms secrete a loud zapping noise.

The tip of your finger is glowing, pulsing bright, and you wait.

As he is close enough, Midoriya turns around to give you a thumbs up.

Go time.

You release.

The big surge rushes across the distance in record time, zapping the grass that it traveled over as it went by.

A crackling sound echoes over the field before it inevitably crashed exactly where you had been aiming.

Both the reds and the blues are shocked back by the explosion, blown over and onto the floor. The ground sizzles in front of them.

"NOW!" You yell.

Midoriya seemed to be following his instincts as he runs forward, with haste and hunger, grabbing the dazed, helpless reds on the floor by their arms.

You start jogging over to them.

Midoriya drags them away from the damage with all of his strength, getting them out of the firing zone quickly. You can tell he's trying to profusely explain to them they he's there to help, and not to worry because they'd have a second chance to gain points in the exam.

But the blues are standing up, too.

"IZUKU, GO!"

You run right past him, urging him to take the others. They finally stand up and run with him, making solid ground in the opposite direction.

You put your body between the escapees, and the blues, holding your zapping arms by your sides.

"OKAY, MY TURN!" A yellow-haired blue boy runs forward, standing in front of his group and facing you with a co*cky grin.

"Ya think you're the only one with a shoot-style quirk?" the boy yells out, bringing his arms into the air. "Yeah we'll let's see how well you handle ten-thousand volts!"

Crap.

No better time to test your theory, then.

The man wastes no time, shooting his attack and you watch with fear as the frenzied, electric current shoots up into the air crazily, before it comes curving down towards you.

You put one arm into the sky, and close your eyes.

I hope I can handle this...

You can feel the exact moment that the current makes contact with you and you can feel it igniting inside your blood. A few seconds later, you start to smile.

Weirdly enough, it felt good.

After all of the shock was evenly distributed and neutralised inside of you, you look down at your hands and dust them off.

Maybe lightening isn't out of the question.

The grin on your face cannot be wiped off as you internally celebrate the fact that the applicant across from you just showed you a new level of your own strength.

"My turn now, I guess," you bring one open palm out in front of your body, bracing it with your other hand at the wrist. A glowing, jumping ball of energy starts to manifest in the centre of it, growing larger until it takes up your whole hand. You grin.

"Oh CRAP! Guys I didn't think this far ahead!"

"All ya gotta do is press your buttons and i'll redirect this blast elsewhere," you say with a smile. "Just press the buttons, Pikachu."

"No! I can't do that! We're all here for the same thing! And that's not my name, dammit."

"Whatever you say."

"No, no, no!" the boy and the few around him start to take gradual steps backwards, looking behind them to check out escape routes. "She's not gonna-"

You gotta show your power...

"Alright, then."

A loud, high-pitched ring echoed out around you, and a shockwave swayed the wind and grass nearby as you fired the huge surge.

"Block your eyes!" you yell out to Midoriya, knowing that this kind of move was typically pretty blinding.

The destructive ball ripped over towards the others, and planted into the ground a few metres in front of them.

The ball erupts, creating a large underground explosion. The damage sprays upturned soil and heat all over the enemies.

You can hear their shrieks of fear as they all become covered in dirt, some of them even u able to move, and becoming somewhat buried.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT DAMAGE!?" one of them shrieks.

"JEEZ! WAY TOO STRONG!"

"DENKI GET ME OUT OF HERE! DIG ME OUT!"

As one of their numbers are called, you turn back over to face Midoriya and the other two. "You guys should press their buttons while they're down. It might get you points."

"O-Okay. Let's go, guys." Midoriya starts to gather them.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?"

Oh, great.

Just what you need.

Slowly, you start to turn around. But you didn't need to lay eyes on him to know exactly who this was.

"DIDN'T YA KNOW? EXPLOSIONS ARE MY THING!"

Chapter 11: [CHARACTER INFO]

Chapter Text

Name: Y/N Rei

Quirk: Plasma Fusion

Hero Name: Cinder
Power: 5/5
Speed: 4/5
Technique: 5/5
Intelligence: 4/5
Cooperation: 1/5

Y/N's Quirk Summary:
- Y/N's quirk simplified, is the ability to create and harness plasma.
- Plasma is a fundamental state of ordinary matter. It can occur naturally, like in lightening, or artificially, like in neon signs or plasma TVs.
- Y/N's ability to artificially generate plasma, is the ability to combine gas pressure, voltage, and electromagnets. All of which she can manifest at her disposal.
- She can also harness pre-existing plasma matter.
- Plasma can accelerate as a projectile, meaning it can be used like a regular firearm. Explosions, cannons, bolts and pulses are all usable.
- Y/N can use herself as a lightning rod to redirect or consume plasma.
- Y/N can, in theory, blast plasma discharge from her hands or feet to use as projector. She can use this to propel herself in any direction.
- Y/N's pupils turn light purple and glow when her quirk is engaged.
- Y/N's skin gradually gets warmer the more she uses her quirk.

Pros:
- High pressure and powerful
- Supersonic
- Highly offensive
- Diverse possibilities
- Very high in temperature

Cons:
- Adamant nature. Meaning once plasma has been released in any sort of projectile way, it is near impossible to alter the course of it.
- Is extremely physically taxing on Y/N's body to create too much plasma at once.
- If the pressure and temperature of the plasma rises too high, it can lead to profound explosions.
- Plasma rays can jump, and pull to each other, despite Y/N's will.

[A/N]: I have always been sh*t at physics so picking this, of all things, to use as her quirk was a stab in the dark lol. If any of you are physicists, I apologise in advance.

Side Notes:
1) The quirk i’m giving Midoriya is blackwhip. It’s a part of OFA. But it wouldn’t make sense in this story to give him all of OFA, so just forget it exists. I’m making some changes to make it sense
2) I hate Mineta’s character. I think his ‘comedic relief’ is an absolute fail and I hate his balls so i’m taking him out of 1-A, and replacing him with Hitoshi Shinsou (you’re welcome)
3) Lots of the characters would be inherently different if not for quirks. Think of Shouto’s family, Shigaraki’s origin, everybody’s quirk-related origins. So don’t think too hard into any of the details, i’m just going to do my best to make it all blend together. Almost nothing about this story is cannon (thus, the Alternate Universe tag)

Thank you! Enjoy <3

Chapter 12: Explosives

Chapter Text

"Hi, Bakugou."

You didn't look particularly excited to see him. You were fighting the urge to roll your eyes and turn your back on him.

"Guess we're gonna get a chance for a rematch after all!"

You can tell immediately that Bakugou is extremely fired up and energised, probably with the adrenaline from all of the battling he had been doing.

You narrow your eyes, "Hooray."

"Scared, huh? Well, you should be."

"Izuku," you flatten your hand by your side to get his attention, but you keep your eyes on Bakugou. "Take the others, and get to shelter. Keep each other in the game, no matter what. Try to get points! Think like a hero!"

"O-Okay! I'll keep them safe, don't worry!"

You can hear them running off behind you.

"HAH! Teaming up with that damn Deku, are you?" Bakugou yells at you. "What the hell could he possibly have to offer you?"

Don't get out, Izuku. Win.

"One day you'll see." you visibly charge up in front of him.

"Heh, so you're ready?! Let's f*cking do this, then!" Bakugou places his hands behind his body, and blasts consecutive explosions from them, propelling his whole body right at you. "TAKE THIIIIIS!"

sh*t. He's quick. Cant dodge.

Without even thinking, you fire from your feet. At the very last second, just as Bakugou's fist is going to bury in your gut and out the other side, you shoot up and out of the way.

You blast up into the sky.

Bakugou crashes into the ground and rolls a few feet, accidentally landing on his back button. It couldn't have worked out better; only one more left.

"The hell?" he gets up to his feet, seething with rage and hungry for blood. "SHE CAN FLY? Damn bitch!"

With your arms out by your sides, you try to keep yourself balanced. Still blasting a smaller, non-projectile charge, somewhat like a constant stream of energy. It sort of resembled how it would look if you had purple rocket engine exhaust coming from your feet.

But you rock around nervously in the air, trying to balance on top of the skidding pressure. Not going any higher, and hopefully not going any lower. This was the first time you had managed to find any sort of harmony in this move.

And you're flying!

You look awkward and toddler-like, but you're flying!

"Yeah, well, you're not special," Bakugou mutters to himself on the grass. "Cause, SO CAN I!"

A large explosion rocks the ground beneath him as he blasts up towards you, piercing the air like an arrow.

You barely even notice him coming, your attention is too sprawled out by the new technique you're practicing in the middle of a life-altering battle.

Bakugou closes the gap between you in seconds and in the heat of the moment, he reaches his arms out and wraps around you.

A loud grunt leaves your chest as his force slams into you and rocks you off balance.

"HEY-!"

And the struggle is on.

He holds onto you. In the moments that it takes as the two of you start falling, gripping onto you, Bakugou tries for your buttons.

He mutters cuss words and uses all of his strength as neither of you have your powers engaged, and you start to fall.

You manage to use your elbows to hold his arms away, putting your button just out of his reach. You clench your teeth as you realise the two of you are seconds away from hitting the ground.

You're fully aware of the fact that he only has one button left, but in the flaming intensity of this fall—where neither one of you would willingly let go of the other—you struggle to focus on that.

The two of you twirl in the air like falling stars and while you hear Bakugou cussing you out and seemingly struggling to hold on, you prop your elbow against his chest enough to leave a gap to protect your button.

You put your other arm out in front of you and aim your palm at the ground, immediately blasting as much force as you could to try and slow your fall down.

But with Bakugou's additional weight, your efforts are in vain.

And your bodies continue to rotate, leaving your back facing the ground in the seconds leading up to the crash.

Bakugou realises this at the same time as you, and luckily he's smart enough to know he needs to do something.

His attention quickly shifts from trying to murder you, to trying to figure out how to save you both. He knew that his two options were to either let go, or figure out a way to make himself and you land safely.

He hadn't done this before either.

"DAMN IT!" he cusses, softening his torso enough to wrap his arms around your back. He isn't aiming for your button anymore, he just needs to survive this fall, with or without you.

One hand Bakugou wraps around your waist, holding you as close to him as possible, while he holds the other hand towards the ground and powers off a large explosion.

He holds you tight as you both bare the impact of that explosion.

Your bodies are forced the other direction, sending sharp pains through your spine that had scorpion-ed in the move.

You continue to fall and you seem to clock on to Bakugou's attention shift.

Thank God for that.

So you let him hold onto you, as you start to shoot from your feet. The force is a little less invasive as it starts to push the two of you somewhat horizontally.

It slows down your descent tremendously.

When the ground grows close enough to smell, you close your eyes and brace for the impact.

And just at that last second, Bakugou screams one last cuss and spins you around.

And his back is what hits the soil.

A crater burns out into the grass. A shockwave rocks across the field from his explosion.

The two of you get up as quickly as can be expected by two incredibly competitive and over-powered teenagers. You clear out a space between you and the fight resumes before either of you can register what the f*ck just happened.

Knowing full well that he isn't going to be giving up, and being a little fed up with his attitude yourself, you decide to really give it to him.

Your arm flies through the air like you're pitching at the Wrigley stadium, and a huge slash of plasma flies out and towards him. The charge covers the space almost too quick to see, and much too quick to dodge.

The impact of the charge hitting the soil shoots a tsunami of dirt all over Bakugou.

You think for a moment, maybe you've got him.

You breathe out a sharp breath.

And an explosion erupts.

The dirt you had just covered in him flies in every direction, detonating the field you were standing in. It takes all of your focus not to lose your balance in the after-math.

You wince your eyes trying to withstand the sharp pain of all the dirt and small rocks shooting past you.

And when it finally stops, he appears.

Explosions sound off behind him, sending him flying your way with way too much speed. His face is scrunched up and he is bleeding with a bloodlust that vibrates your bones.

"DIEEEEEEEEE!"

"DIE?!" you practically bark, holding out your left hand to the left of you, and simultaneously blasting a shot big enough to send your body flying the other direction.

Your shoulder screams out in pain, and you don't really know how you managed to evade his attack.

But as you roll across the ground, you are aware of how quick you have to act. It didn't take you long to become familiar with Bakugou's battle IQ.

You look up and find him as fast as your eyes can, and just as you are going to make a move, you notice something.

And it sends a sigh of relief over your whole body.

"STOP FOR A SECOND!" you scream out to him, propping your hands on the cracked ground beneath you.

By some miracle, he listens.

He must have been able to sense the urgency in your voice.

His hands are sparking by his sides. "WHAT THE HELL IS IT? I KNOW YOU'RE NOT ABOUT TO CALL FOR A TIMEOUT!"

"Maybe you should try," you sigh, smiling. "Looking down."

Bakugou's face drops and he immediately looks down at his chest. His button was grey.

One-three-five.

You don't need to look at his armband to see if it's him. You knew.

The overhead voice echoing around the arena feels like an angel in your ear.

Your saviour.

Neither you or Bakugou were sure exactly when his button had been pushed in your scramble, but you had a feeling it was when he pulled you close into him while you were falling.

You almost feel bad for him.

Both of his buttons had been pushed on accident. You had been in the same situation, and yet you were still in the game.

But then you remember that it's Bakugou you're talking about.

"f*ck IT! I DON'T NEED A DAMN BUTTON TO KILL YOU!" his voice shakes the stadium and frightens the crowd that was gathered in the safety of the treeline to watch. "THIS ISN'T OVER!"

And just like that, the alarm bell rings.

And the game is over.

A huge sigh comes from your lungs and your arms lose their strength at the first sign of relief. You drop down to the soil and rest your face in it.

It's over...

There is nothing else you can do. You tried your best.

"Y/N!? Y/N! Are you okay?" Midoriya's voice grows closer until you can feel his hand on your back. "It's over! You didn't get out!"

You only have enough strength to lift your head enough to look at Midoriya. Your face softens but it looks like it hurts.

And you see his button is still red.

"You too..." you whisper weakly. "Good job."

Chapter 13: Unsatisfied

Chapter Text

It's the aftermath of the games.

You and all the other competitors are gathered in a giant hall, nearby the arena. Everybody is standing around in small clicks, chatting about all the different atrocities that had gone down in the games.

Everybody is trying to calm down and the injuries are being tended to by volunteer nurses.

There were more injuries than the overseers of the games would like to admit. But that was just the way of the works. The world was changing, and it wasn't always going to be pretty.

You were gathered with your friends Midoriya, Kirishima, and Uraraka. You were sat down on a chair while everyone else was standing, because the nurses were currently tending to you.

You had a strained shoulder from that one blast, and aside from a couple lacerations and minor concussion, that was the worst of your injuries.

"I can't believe I didn't see you the whole time Ochaco," you mumbled while a lovely lady was busy finishing bandaging your forearm. "I wish we could have met up, I wanted to see your training in action."

"Well, I actually got out." she rubs the back of her head nervously. "It wasn't long before the end, though. So I made it way longer than I expected to!"

You and everyone at your corner could tell she was not nearly as cheerful as she was pretending to be.

"Getting out doesn't mean you don't get into U-A. You know you have just as much of a chance as those who stayed in! It's just a little point deduction, right?"

"I'm not sure if my performance could handle a point deduction, but I guess we'll see."

You smiled at her.

"I'm pissed I missed your fight with Bakugou, Y/N. I heard it was totally insane!"

You almost laugh. "He is insane. I think he really wanted me to die."

"Really!?"

"...That's aggressive."

"I sure hope not...because if that is the case," Midoriya started thinking aloud. "There's no way he's going to be accepted to a hero academy of such high prestige. Being a sore loser is probably the last thing they want."

"The hell makes you think I lost that?"

The voice sends a shiver down your spine. You turn to face Bakugou who's standing a few feet away from your group. A nurse plasters a bandaid against a cut on your cheek, and you glare at him. He's alone.

You notice his arm is in a sling, and its wound tightly around his waist.

Maybe he hurt his ribs or something when you hit the ground? But that didn't matter, you were going to pretend that you didn't notice him spin you around so that he'd take the impact of that fall.

You couldn't understand why he did it, so you planned to ignore it.

"Maybe the fact that you got out and I didn't?" you raise an eyebrow. "That counts as a loss, no?"

He scoffs. "Not the type of fight we were havin'. You know damn well it had nothing to do with the damn games."

"It had everything to do with the games. That's the whole point of this thing, right? To apply for a school? Why do you want to make it about me and you so badly?"

"Because you have this ignorance that you're stronger than me, so I came here to show you how wrong you are. But I didn't even get the f*ckin' chance before they called the match. Damn assholes. It's like they were toying with me." He lowers his head and clenches the fist that isn't in the sling. "I hope you know that i'm not satisfied with that."

"Holy sh*t, he totally wants to kill Y/N." Kirishima whispers to Uraraka.

"And be ready to be disappointed." he barks,
turning away. But he looks back at you one last time and his eyes are molten lava burning into you. "Because that seat is mine."

You know he's talking about the seat in 1-A that you, and thousands of other kids had just competed for.

"Well then, good luck!" you call out after him.

He flips you off over his head before he slips his good hand into his pants pocket. He marches off into the crowd and you can't help but watch him disappear.

You turn back to face the others and they all look absolutely horrified.

You are so surprised you actually laugh, and it hurts your ribs. "Don't worry. He's harmless."

You force yourself to stand up and bid an honest thank you to the nurses that had just finished helping you. You turn to your friends and throw an arm over Kirishima and Uraraka. You look at Midoriya and point your chin in the direction of the door.

"Come on, let's get some food to celebrate."

"What are we celebrating?" Uraraka asked as she let herself be pulled by you. "None of us know if we got in or not."

"We're celebrating trying our best. Who gives a f*ck about the rest?"

All of you smile bright, infecting each other with your proudness for one-another. It was true that everybody had tried their best, and now the rest was in none of your hands.

Fate had you, now.

—————

It's a week later.

You are at home, downstairs on the family laptop relentlessly pressing refresh on the emails application. You have been sitting there for at least an hour, trying to ignore your mother's wails for you to stop using up all the wifi.

You ignored her mainly because she wasn't using any technology, for one. And secondly, you weren't using up any large amount of wifi. She just liked to pick fights wherever she could.

You squint at the screen and a gasp comes out as a new email finally pops up at the top. The sender reads: 'U-A Hero Academy Recruitment Facalty'.

You click on the email at the speed of light and read through it even faster.

Your face lights up. It explodes with colour and expression and a smile so big it engages muscles you've never used before.

Holy sh*t...

You push your chair away from the desk, too excited to contain yourself and you scream out. "MOM! MOM! I GOT IN!"

"HUH?"

"TO U-A! I GOT INTO THE TOP CLASS AT U-A!"

"WHAT? You're f*cking crazy if you think i'm paying for you to go to some stupid fancy pants school. Forget it!"

You shake your head although you know she can't see you. "No, mom. It's a scholarship! It's all paid for! And it's a hero academy! Not just a regular school."

"I don't give a f*ck what type of school it is. Just dont think you're using my card!"

She doesn't say another word before you hear her feet storm off into the kitchen. You then hear her rattling around in the glasses cabinet, and you glance at the clock on the wall. It's eleven AM.

Her drinking keeps getting earlier.

It is a Sunday, granted. But if it were a Wednesday, you're sure she'd still be going strong.

But, you didn't want to let that dampen your spirits.

You had just received the most exciting news of your life, how could you not want to celebrate?

So you close the laptop and spring up the stairs into your bedroom, diving onto your bed with a beaming grin. You bounce once on the bed and pull out your phone.

———HEROES GROUP CHAT 😜———

YOU
GUYSSSSSSSSS THEY SENT THE EMAILS OUT!

EIJIROU
WHAT? really? let me check rn

EIJIROU
HOLY sh*t I l GOT INNNNNNNNN LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

YOU:
ME TOO NO WAYYY

IZUKU
I...

YOU
DONT BUILD TENSION LIKE THAT IZUKU TELL US QUIIIIIICK! AND OCHACO WHATS UR RESULTSZZ???!!!!!??

OCHACO
i actually made it in....to class 1A..

YOU
WHOOOOOOOHOOO ME TOO ME TOO OMG SAME CLASS! this is insane ive never been so excited in my life

YOU
IZUKU !!!!

IZUKU
i got in...

IZUKU
I GOT IN WITHOUT A QUIRK !??!?!!?!

YOU
my hands are vibrating

YOU
ISNFOWNSNICKIWMANCJFJJWIWCJCNNWIDIFJVNCUSUSIWJFNCISIJDJCJJFJEJWKFOCKNWBDIDN 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

EIJIROU
WE TOTALLY DID IT GUYS! 💪💪

IZUKU
the likelihood of us all making it in was so slim, yet we did it. i feel like that is some sort of sign that it's meant to be

YOU
it means that our hard work paid off, and now we have a real chance to become heroes LIKE IN THE BIG SCHOOL JAJAJAC DJKSND😭

OCHACO
i'm so proud of us 😭

YOU
i'm especially proud of you guys. i can't even explain it

YOU
i saw all the amazing effort you three put in over the last few months, you took so many RISKS and now it's all going to pay off

YOU
this is history people

YOU
i think it calls for ramen

EIJIROU
best idea you've ever had rei

IZUKU
sure! where should we meet?

OCHACO
i don't think i can afford ramen today. maybe tomorrow?

IZUKU
i'll pay for you uraraka 😁

OCHACO
WHAT? NO YOU DONT HAVE TO DO THAT

YOU
hey ochaco? let the nice man pay for you.

YOU
matter of fact...

YOU
SHOUT ME TOO IZUKU 🙏🙏

EIJIROU
😭😭 I gotchu rei don't stress

YOU
MY SAVIOUR i love u ❤️❤️

OCHACO
okay let's go then guys haha

YOU
alright meet at 7. ichiran?

EIJIROU
sold

Chapter 14: Pep Talk

Chapter Text

A part of you wanted to carpool with your friends to school for the first day.

But you also understood that this was a huge moment for them and they all probably had their own things to do in preparation for it. You knew that Uraraka had commitments with her family, and Midoriya was hellbent on getting himself to school.

And Kirishima said he had a surprise for you, that he wanted to show you on campus.

Whatever happened, you found yourself at the gates alone. You had texted everybody and asked where they were and Kirishima was the only one who had responded, saying he was only two minutes away.

So you waited outside.

Your blazer was doing a poor job at keeping you warm, but the nerves were at least keeping your blood pumping.

"Y/N!"

You hear your name and spin around, recognising the voice.

"E!"

When your eyes land on him your mouth drops open and your body freezes up as he jogs towards you waving.

"YOUR HAIR!"

He runs up next to you with a huge grin on his lips. He looks proud of himself as he touches his brand new do.

"Do you like it?"

"ITS RED!" you say, grabbing his shoulders to turn him around and get a proper look at it. "And it's all spiked, just like you-"

You pause, and he turns back around. His face has got some colour to it, now.

"Just like you said." you recall the time when he had said that he liked the way his hair stuck up when you had zapped him, the day your quirk manifested.

What a lifetime ago that was.

You smile warmly at him, and you just stare at each other for a moment.

"It's awesome." you say. "Totally heroic."

He laughs. "Thanks."

You can barely stop looking at it. It's so bright and vibrant compared to his previously black, soft, droopy hair. It's a bold statement, and it really brings out his eyes.

"What made you choose red?"

He shrugs humbly, "I wanted something that would remind me to be bold and brave when I have moments of doubt. Not to be scared. And I wanted to look cool while fighting bad guys."

You laugh, "That's so you, E."

"Plus, I saw one of the heroes they released in Tokyo is called 'Red Riot', and he's totally my idol now. He's the coolest dude i've ever seen, I wanna be just like him."

"I bet Red Riot wants to be just like you," you joke and nudge his shoulder, turning to start walking into the building. "Well it looks sick. A new Eiji Era."

He chuckles at your comment and walks happily beside you.

You and Kirishima walk together and chat all the way into the halls, and find your classroom together with no troubles.

Just before you head inside, you turn to each other.

Kirishima puts his hands on your shoulders and bends his knees to get to your height. You smile and you share a look of playful focus.

"This is it." he says. "Are you ready?"

"Hell yeah I am." you smirk, "Are you?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Let's f*cking kill this."

The two of you nod as a silent agreement. But it wasn't like it really needed to be said.

You and Kirishima had the type of friendship that was going to help itself through the next few years. You would hold each other accountable, and call out your mistakes. You would make sure the other was staying on track, and challenge one another constantly. You knew your limits, and he'd push them; as you'd do for him.

You'd keep each other safe, no matter what.

You had the type of friendship that you were really going to need if you were going to survive whatever the world was going to throw at you next.

You felt so lucky to have him. Your best friend.

Kirishima gives you one last pat on the back, as if saying 'you got this' and you head into the room together.

You don't even realise you're holding your breath until you suddenly feel lightheaded, meeting the eyes of someone who you would have not expected in a million years.

Your mouth falls open and you actually gasp.

"What the actual f*ck!?"

He is sitting on top of his desk, being scolded by a tall man, and you're feeling dizzy from the deja vu.

His eyes bore into you like arrows to a bullseye.

"No f*cking way." he whispers under his breath.

Then he stands up and starts walking over to you quickly.

"HELL NO! NO WAY YOUR DUMBASS GOT IN! YOU'RE NOT EVEN IN THIS CLASS ARE YOU? DID YOU PAY SOMEONE OFF?"

Bakugou Katsuki...

He is sitting in your classroom.

You're completely frozen in shock and he marches up and grabs a fist full of your shirt, lifting you almost entirely off your feet.

"WELL? TELL ME THE TRUTH!"

Kirishima steps between you and gently, but firmly, pushes Bakugou off of you, forcing him to drop you. He creates a small gap.

"Hey bro, let's leave the fighting out of the classroom. I get it might be a little weird that we all ended up in the same homeroom together, but, something tells me it's gonna get a lot weirder. Let's not get hostile."

Weirder?

"Rei-san! Kirishima!"

Your eyes widen at the new voice coming from behind you.

Oh. That's right.

Midoriya Izuku is in your class too.

Bakugou's face experiences shock all over again, before it is consumed completely by rage.

"DEKU!?"

The entire classroom falls silent at Bakugou's outrage.

"THE QUIRKLESS LOSER!?"

—————

The first half of homeroom was extremely awkward. Especially since you had been seated next to Bakugou.

You had the unimaginably painful task of having to ignore his questions and burning glares of death up until this point. But luckily, you had Kirishima on your right. That seemed to make things a little easier.

Now, after introductions with the very intimidating teacher and students were done with, the teacher insisted on bringing everybody down to the field in their sports uniforms.

That's where you are now.

Gathered with your entire class, as Aizawa Sensei speaks to you all.

"So today will be treated as a sort of introduction. Partly to myself, but also to each other. You are all going to be spending a lot of time with one another, so I suggest you get familiar." Aizawa crosses his arms, "Each of you have a very long path ahead of you, and the people standing beside you are going to be right there for the whole journey. That is, if you survive it."

You look up at Kirishima and you both smile. And then down at Uraraka and she's already smiling at you.

"So I suggest you refrain from making enemies." Aizawa thins his eyes. "I'm looking at you, Bakugou."

"WHAT!?"

A hand flies up. A pink-skinned girl.

You'd never seen someone with a physically visible quirk before, and you can't stop yourself from staring at her. You didn't want to make her uncomfortable, but you couldn't deny the fact that she was beautiful. Breathtaking.

And you look around the circle of students.

There was quite a few with physical quirks. One boy in particular stood out as he towered over the rest. He had too many arms to count, and was at first glance, pretty hard to look at.

But then you caught a glimpse of his eyes and saw the overwhelming softness and kindness in them. He looked warm and caring and wildly misunderstood.

You couldn't even imagine.

You wanted to ask him a thousand questions about when his quirk manifested. Did his arms just start growing? How long did it take for him to get so tall? Were his parents scared?

But you couldn't ask him anything. You wouldn't. You could only imagine how often he gets asked things like that, and you weren't going to be another person he had to explain himself to.

He was here to be a hero, just like you.

And at that thought, you smile and look back at the teacher.

"What are we doing today?" the pink-skinned girl asked.

"Thank you, Ashido. Firstly, I myself want to experience what you all can do in some simple activities so I can be familiar with where you are all at." he says. "The games didn't give much away. And, if i'm being honest, I think the school was much too lenient with who they let in."

LENIENT?

"Just so everybody is on the same page here: this is a full-time commitment, that will not go away. You cannot give up when you're tired. You cannot runaway when you're scared. This is not some regular school. You're not here just for an education, or just to get stronger. This is a lifestyle you have chosen. To protect. To sacrifice. If you were selected to join one of these classes, it means that the game makers saw some kind of potential in the powers that you developed, or, in your spirit. But I am not so easily convinced." he says firmly, as if threatening. "In one month, you will all undergo an exam to apply for your probationary heroes licences. The exam will not be easy, and it is not meant to be. So you'll all be under a strict training regime to prepare for it."

"So soon?" someone asks.

"Yes. So soon. We as a school, and as a society, have to move very fast to keep up with the changing hierarchies. We need to combat the villains, meaning we need to match their moves. Villainy will not wait for you to be ready. Got that?"

"Yes, sir." everybody barks in unison.

"I admit, it's not our first choice to be moving so fast through the courses that the head of this school, Principle Nezu, has created. However, we are moving into a new world phase where our foundations as a society are crooked and unpromising. There is much uncertainty to come. Dangers. Bad people who suddenly have unparalleled strength. You are the kids of this generation that are going to protect those who cannot protect themselves. You've chosen the life of a hero. It will not all be fame and fortune. It will not be about glory and success. You are here to train to protect people. If you have any other motives, or the idea of dying at the hand of a treacherous villain with screwdrivers for fingers frightens you enough to make you consider quitting, quit right now. Leave. Take off your uniform and go back to public school. We won't waste our time on you."

"Damn...so harsh," Kirishima whispers.

"It makes sense." you reply. "So many kids wanted in on this course. I can see how they'd want to get the fakes out early on."

"Yeah but this Aizawa guy really is scary."

"They said he's one of the twenty hand-picked pros in our city. They're all adults who developed quirks and went into intense training for three months before being released into the cities as the first ever professional heroes. I think they're the front lines of the hero organisation."

"What the hell is he doing teaching us then?"

"I dunno," you shrug. "But it sounds like we're lucky to have him."

Kirishima grins ear to ear and stands up straighter.

"Yeah, I think so."

Chapter 15: Testing Your Limits

Chapter Text

"The first objective is to throw this ball."

All of the students line up and one by one, and each has an attempt at throwing the ball. You were pretty amazed by the efforts of the other students, watching with awe in your eyes as you got to experience some of their quirks for the first time.

You were amazed all the way up until Midoriya went.

And it seemed that he developed some kind of power-related quirk in the very middle of his throw—blasting the ball off to what you could only assume to be space. And then, his arm was completely written off.

"Izu-"

"I'm okay!" he says, holding his arm that was bruised black and blue.

You stared at him in utter bewilderment as he solemnly left the field and headed off to the infirmary, as per Aizawa's instructions.

"Alright, if you scored above five-hundred, come and line up over here. If less, stay where you are."

You and all the other students who scored high walk over to where Aizawa was standing, and you line up. You wound up standing next to Uraraka, happily. She had the perfect quirk for this test, she scored the best in the class.

"Now, you're going to throw the ball to the others, and they're going to catch it."

You look across the field at a boy with split-dyed hair.

Aizawa gives all of you a ball, and you stare at the boy who was going to have to catch your throw. You hadn't seen his quirk yet, but you hoped he wasn't going to get hurt by this.

"Now throw it as hard as you can. This is to test their catching abilities, so don't hold back. And don't worry, you'll get a turn to catch."

You throw the ball up into the air once and nod your head at him as you catch it, as if asking if he was ready.

He had already seen you blast a ball way out of school grounds a few minutes ago, so you were confident that he would know to brace for impact. You watch him physically ready up.

You hold the ball over your head, preparing to throw it, and the centre of your palm starts to glow purple around the ball.

You clench your teeth and throw your body forward, the ball following suit. You let off an explosion in the space between the ball and your palm, creating a massive ear-splitting sound, and sending a shockwave of hot wind over everybody on the field.

The ball shoots across the field too fast to keep up with, and suddenly, a wall of fire stops it dead in its tracks.

You put your hands in front of you to block the heat, and wince your eyes at the boy you'd just thrown to.

The wall of fire disappears and he slowly puts his hand down. There is a cloud of smoke washing over Todoroki and the ball is burnt to a crisp and on the floor in front of him.

"Terrible catch, Todoroki." Aizawa says, sounding bored. "But good call. You never would have caught that if you tried."

Todoroki nods at his teacher's accolades, and then at you.

You give him a thumbs up.

And after the rest of your line all goes one after the other, throwing the balls at the other side, Aizawa switches it up again. He matches the high-scorers with themselves.

And you end up with Bakugou.

He spreads his legs, glaring at you from across the field, and you swear you can see smoke coming out of his nose. He is a raging bull on steroids, and you are completely at his mercy in front of the whole class.

You widen your stance to prepare for what was coming, having a feeling that Bakugou was not going to go easy on you.

You hold your empty hands in front of your chest, preparing to catch the ball. You stare at him, as if challeneging him.

Let's dance, pretty boy.

You hold your breath as he rocks back and throws himself forward, a huge explosion sending off the ball. "DIEEEEEEE!"

Your whole body stiffens.

Somehow, at just the right moment, you manage to wrap your hands around the flaming hot ball. Stopping it just before it was sure to pierce through your stomach and out the other side.

And the backlash of the catch sends your body flying back twenty feet.

You crash into the grass on your back. You groan loudly at the pain it brings your whole body.

Aizawa looks back at the others. "You see kids? It's important to be able to assess when it's better to just get out of the way. You need to know your own limits."

Without saying a word, you bring your arm into the air and the blackened ball is smoking in your hand.

Aizawa looks back at you, and his face is surprised.

"I stand corrected. Nice catch."

You slowly stand up and walk yourself back to the circle, briefly flicking Bakugou off when Aizawa wasn't looking.

—————

What a day.

You got to learn a lot about the classmates you were going to spend the next few years with. You learned that you had some insanely strong people in your class, which raised your hopes for the next generation.

There were lots of kids just like you, with strong powers and the will to help people.

It made you feel better, knowing that you weren't alone in being scared, and wanting things to be better. Being willing to fight for things to get better.

You wanted to make a real change. You wanted to inspire and protect.

And you were in the right place.

"Oi, dumbass."

You stop walking, turning around in confusion to the new voice that was obviously speaking to you.

Bakugou walks up to you with his hands in his pockets, but he removes one to grab your wrist.

"Come with me." he says.

"What the hell? What are you doing?"

"Just shut up and follow me." he doesn't look back, dragging you onto the sidewalk and down the street.

You don't know what to say, but the rebellion in you is extremely uncomfortable letting Bakugou manhandle you like this. It takes all of your self control not to melt his hand right off his body.

However, twenty minutes later, he is still alive, and still dragging you. You ended up in the busy streets in the centre of the city. Bakugou still walks in front of you, obviously with some destination in mind.

"Are you hungry?" he asks.

"Why the hell do you care?" you bark, a little annoyed by the fact that he had dragged you all this way without answering a single one of your questions.

"Because I got some f*cking questions for you and I know you won't answer sh*t if you're hungry or in a mood." he snaps back. "So i'm thinking ahead."

He's still holding onto your wrist.

"What kind of questions? And what makes you think i'll answer them anyway? You haven't answered me this whole time."

"We'll talk about it when we get there."

"Get where!?" you raise your voice a little, showing him that you weren't happy.

"To a f*cking food place, dumbass. I'll buy you a meal so you'll f*cking talk."

You resist the urge to roll your eyes, disappointed by his blatant lack of common sense that was so obnoxious it was almost offensive.

"Fine. But i'm picking."

You rip your hand out of his iron grip, briefly massaging the red skin that he left behind. You walk faster to get in front of him, and take the lead.

A short walk later, you end up at your favourite ramen place. Bakugou had followed silently behind you without arguing, so you assumed he was going to be happy with whatever you picked.

"This place?" he asks. "What the hell do you like about this joint?"

"They have the best spicy tonkotsu in the city. You think you can handle it?" you grin.

"Obviously I can f*cking handle it." he sasses back. "I could easily beat you in any contest, but spice is where I really shine. You're f*cked."

"Sure. Okay." you smile, approaching the building.

You walk up to the door first and push on it only to have it not budge at all and you walk right into the glass, hitting your forehead.

You step back and shake your head.

"You have to pull it."

"Aw yeah, cheers lad. My next plan was to start lifting it from the bottom." you roll your eyes as you pull the door open and walk inside. "f*cking smartass."

He grins and follows you inside.

—————

"JESUS! I said I liked spice, not pain, you f*cking psycho!"

You laugh, wiping the redness off your lips onto a napkin. "Told ya."

"This isn't normal. You're obviously not human." he is sweating and his entire face is beet red. "I mean it. You're a f*cking weirdo."

"Whatever you say," you shrug, unbothered by the spice that you had grown accustomed to after eating it so many times.

"So, what did you wanna ask me?"

Bakugou takes a long moment to compose himself, trying to get over the heat that was clouding all of his senses. He sniffles, and wipes his lips against the back of his hand.

"I want you to tell me everything you know about Deku's quirk."

Your eyebrows cinch in confusion, and you pull an ugly face at his question. You didn't know what the hell he meant by that, or why he even cared about such a random question.

"Huh? I don't know anything. Today was the first I saw of it."

"Bullsh*t." he says. "You're basically butt-buddies with him."

"And why do you care?"

"Because I haven't been able to get rid of that damn Deku for my entire life. Everywhere I go, he's right behind me. And I want to know exactly what his power is, so I can keep myself as far ahead of him as possible."

"You want to know his power so you can make sure you're stronger? Jesus. You're even pettier than I thought."

"Yeah, whatever. It's important to me, alright?" he keeps his head low, stirring his ramen broth with his chopsticks. "So quit being a bitch and just tell me what you know."

"I did, asshole. I told you. I don't know sh*t. I think it only manifested today, and I haven't even gotten the chance to talk to him about it yet."

"Dammit. f*cking useless." he cusses. "So I brought you here and paid for your food for nothing then?"

You shrug your shoulders and sip your broth on a soup spoon. "Guess so."

"Great."

You and Bakugou finish up your meals and leave the restaurant. There is an awkward silence that came after the odd conversation you had, and it follows you all the way out onto the street.

"I'm going this way." you say.

"Fine. Bye."

"Thanks for the meal." You roll your eyes and shake your head, turning on your heel and walking in the opposite direction to him.

"Oi! dickhe*d."

You stop and turn back on your hip, raising one eyebrow and staring at him. He has both hands in his pockets and his face is wearing something that looks nearly akin to shame.

"For what it's worth," he pauses to look down. "I don't regret bringing you today."

You shrug, a smile threatening at your lips. "Let's do it again sometime, then."

He scoffs, finally looking away from you. Then he starts to walk away, "Whatever."

Then, a loud scream echoes over the street.

You and Bakugou both stop walking and look in the same direction, where the scream had come from.

You then look at each other, and you both run off after it.

Chapter 16: f*ck The Rules

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

You both come around the corner at the same time.

You power slide out onto the street, your body weight low. And you immediately search for the source of the screaming. You face the scene in front of you, and it feels straight out of a horror movie.

"Holy sh*t, is that-"

"A villain." you say, clenching your fists by your sides.

You had never seen anything like this before. Up against one of the buildings on the street, there was an abnormally large man with lizard-like features that was towering over a lady that he had cornered against a wall.

Two things were immediately clear.

One: this was the woman that had been screaming a few seconds ago.

And two: she needed help.

You clench your jaw, quickly thinking of the best course of action. You could already see that this was a robbery, and nobody around was able to intervene just because of the sheer size of this lizard-man.

Well, that, and of course how paralysing and scary it is to face off against a villain with a quirk that you don't know the limits of.

There are clearly no pros nearby, your city is already dangerously short on them. And the shouting coming from the lizard man is sending your mind into a frenzy of questions. You didn't know what to do.

But your body stops you from hesitating.

Your legs move on their own accord, you leave behind a gust of wind and small cloud of smoke when you blast towards the beast, not thinking at all.

"OI, IDIOT! YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO USE YOUR QUIRK TO FIGHT IN PUBLIC! THE f*ck ARE YOU THINKING?!"

You blast off your back foot and into the air, closing the gap between you and leaving Bakugou behind.

"I'M THINKING f*ck THE RULES!" you shout back, "SOMEONE NEEDS HELP!"

You manoeuvre your body down low and slide in front of the man, bringing your body between the beast and the woman, and you hold out both hands towards his chest.

"BACK OFF! I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU NEAR HER!"

The lizard-dinosaur-crocodile hybrid laughs in your face, showing off his enormous and dangerously sharp teeth.

You gulp.

"f*cking idiot..." Bakugou cusses before he blasts off after you.

"WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO? You're just a school girl! Matter of fact, hand over your backpack too!"

You almost lose your sight out of pure fear, but you follow your instincts anyway.

Very briefly you glance behind the man, taking note of the fact that the street had been cleared of civilians. Everybody had ran away out of fear, which worked out perfectly in your favour.

That meant that you didn't need to worry about harming pedestrians in the backlash.

The man starts to lean forward, reaching his arms out to you.

"OVER HERE, SPARKY!"

You aren't sure if Bakugou is talking to you or the villain, but you can see him over the villain's shoulder.

He is high in the air, keeping himself suspended with small blasts, and he looks ready.

And so without waiting another second, you unleash your attack.

Your eyes illuminate purple, and a huge shield of purple light expands from the centre of your palms. The surging, zapping energy grows larger and larger until it's about twice as tall as you.

And you close your eyes and release it.

"YOU BETTER CATCH!" you yell to Bakugou, who you don't doubt is prepared.

You push your arms forward, and the plasma surge blows into the scaly front of the villain, shooting a gust of hot air over the entire street, and sending the man flying back dangerously fast.

You quickly check your peripherals to make sure that the woman behind you wasn't affected by the backlash of your attack, and she was still standing.

It all happens in a matter of a second.

Bakugou reacts to your attack, using his explosions to move around the beast. He gets up higher, and you can see his grin from here.

He flips over the top of the man as it moves by him, and Bakugou blasts his body upwards with obvious experience, and axe-kicks down on the villain with unexpected strength.

You watch with an absent grin on your face.

He knocks the beast down to the ground, holding him pinned down with his foot.

"NOW STAY DOWN, YA DAMN SCUM!"

You immediately turn around to the woman who was miraculously safe behind you, shaking like a leaf and bleeding from a bump on her head.

"Are you okay, ma'am? Are you injured?" your hands come out sparingly.

Your voice jumps from the adrenaline and fear cursing through your body. You feel a little insane, but try to keep it together for her sake.

And just as you reach your hands out to help her, you realise that your palms are likely very hot. Out of caution for not wanting to burn her, you bring them back down.

"I-I'll-"

"It's okay. That guy won't be messing with you anymore. My classmate took him down, you're safe now."

"Who a-are you kids?"

You look down to your blazer and hold up the stitched patch on your chest to show it to her, smiling.

"We're heroes in training!"

It was so bizarre, the way the situation made you feel so good.

Not only was it like getting a hit of your favourite drug, being able to help someone who would have been screwed if not for you.

But also, for the first time, you had experienced what it felt like to take down someone significantly larger and inherently more dangerous than you.

Your power went way beyond your size, and that fact was as exhilarating as it was addicting.

"OI, SPARKY, LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

You turn back around to see Bakugou standing on top of the man, and then you notice that he is now lying unconscious on the road.

...He went overboard. Of course.

But that is what brings your attention to the sirens that are starting to grow closer.

"COPS ARE COMING!"

Crap. You had forgotten that it was a crime to use your quirk in public, and you had just done it in a very open space. You quickly glance around for witnesses. You were at a very real risk of facing some serious punishments, if you were to stick around.

"IF YOU DON'T COME NOW, I'M LEAVING YOUR DUMBASS BEHIND!"

"STOP YELLING! f*ckING IMBECILE!"

You turn back to the woman behind you and you force a fake smile.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. Make sure you get checked out by an ambulance! And stay out of trouble!"

You very briefly tap her shoulder once, before turning back to face Bakugou. You nod your head once at him, and then step out onto the street.

You blast a strong plasma charge from each of the soles of your feet, and your body shoots up alongside the high rise building.

Bakugou follows right behind you, leaving the unconscious villain on the road.

The two of you reach the top of the very tall structure, and crash down onto the concrete roof. You gather yourself for a moment and you can hear Bakugou doing the same thing beside you.

You both brush off your uniforms.

You rush to the edge of the building, and immediately look down. Three police cars come around the corner, right on queue.

You are breathing heavily and watching from above as the officers leave their cars, and rush to the scene.

Bakugou walks over to your side, also breathing heavily.

You turn to face him, watching his hair blow in the breeze, and his eyes are sparkling with excitement.

"Am I crazy, or was that kinda..." an unwanted smile takes over your lips. "...Fun."

He is looking down at the madness below, and you of course notice his lips also curling up into a reserved grin.

"Hm."

He places his hands onto his hips, his uniform blowing in the strong breeze. His lips are pursed, and you can tell he is embarrassed by his smile.

The sky behind him is starting to get dark, as night welcomes you.

"I guess we make an alright team."

You look away from him and back down, and you can't stop yourself from chuckling. Your body was still zapping with power and adrenaline, and you felt completely on top of the world.

The two of you stay there for a few more minutes, until you agree it's time to head home.

That was your first experience as a hero.

And just from the small taste that you got, you were already addicted to the feeling.

Notes:

f*ck this chapter it sucks

Chapter 17: Storm Chaser

Chapter Text

You and the class of 1-A had spent a good portion of the school day out on the oval with Aizawa, practicing simple grappling techniques.

The point of the exercise, Aizawa said, was to get all of the students familiar with each other, and to warm up your bodies. While simultaneously practicing simple restraint techniques, and learning how to get out of them. There was lots to be gained from this kind of exercise.

You had been matched up with most of the students already, taking turns grappling on the gym mat. That was why it had been taking so long, because each student got a go battling everybody in the class.

So far, the only student who you had lost to, was Shouji.

Luckily for you, you already had some martial arts training up your belt. So that gave you the upper hand in grappling against the students who were trying it out for the first time.

And currently, it was your turn to face off against Ashido.

Aizawa signals the start alarm, and you begin.

You and Ashido had already shaken each others hands, and told one another to try your best. Now, as the round has begun, you both start to circle each other. You keep your body weight low, and keep your eyes down at her legs.

Everybody is watching you closely, and carefully. Aizawa offers pointers every now and then.

You are just about to charge forward and try to take her down, when a sound distracts you.

An enormous thunder crackle comes from the sky.

It startles you all, forcing the match to pause.

Shaken, you and Ashido and all the other students pause and look up at the sky. Since it had been clear and blue only minutes ago, this sudden sound of thunder was beyond unexpected, and borderline abnormal.

The blue sky had turned grey, and there were thick angry clouds circling above you all.

It was weird, the way it seemed to have come out of nowhere, and was only above you.

"Aizawa Sensei, do you know what that is?" you point up at the cloud.

He looks up, stroking some hair out of his face, and squints his eyes in concentration. You can tell by his expression that he has no idea what it is.

A heavy sense of fear washes over you.

And the energy starts to change.

"I don't." Aizawa looks back towards the class in front of him with his eyebrows winced. "Is that any of your doing?"

You all shake your heads, looking around at each other to see if anybody was going to claim it was them.

Nobody does.

And another huge thunder booms over the field, shaking the ground beneath you.

A couple of the girls shriek, and everybody ducks down low.

"Uh- Aizawa, do you think it's safe-"

Then, a bolt of lightning strikes the left side of the field, leaving the grass smoking behind.

You look back up at the cloud.

There is absolutely nothing normal about it. This was not a natural storm that was brewing over you, and you could already sense the immediate danger.

Another bolt of lightening. Everybody around you is visibly antsy, holding their hands over their heads, and obviously scared.

"Alright, everyone inside." Aizawa says.

And just like that, the storm intensifies. The lightening strikes start to strike around all of you. Each strike gets bigger, louder, and closer.

You shove Midoriya who was standing beside you, towards shelter, immediately switching into a protective mode. "Go."

The clouds are circling, they almost resemble a tornado forming.

Aizawa seems to notice the ill-intent coming out of the storm, and he immediately acts on it.

"Quick!" he says, "This is a quirk attack on the school, go!"

Some of the students start to run, while others hesitate where they are.

There is lots of electricity at the centre of the cloud. Not only can you see the barbs dancing around in the circle, looking like it was about to come down, but you can feel it, too.

You can feel your blood coming to life under your skin. It is as if your body is reacting to the electro-currents in the storm.

The kids are slowly walking towards the shelter, keeping their eyes behind them on the heavy cloud that is above them. You are straggling behind the rest of the class.

And you can feel how dangerous it is.

And then you notice the middle of it starting to come down, towards the earth, towards the field. The black cloud is reaching, and zaps of lightening are dancing around the centre of it.

You can feel it all bubbling to a head.

"sh*t."

It's about to come down right where they walking.

You can feel it - this one strike was going to be bigger than the others. And, if it were to hit them, or even the ground near them, you knew this kind of current could easily kill them.

This was an attack.

And you had to do something.

"MOVE!"

You break off into a sprint, before blasting off of your feet and up into the sky.

"EVERYBODY, WATCH OUT!"

As if on queue, the largest bolt of lightening comes down.

Your eyes turn purple and you bring both of your arms up over your head, pointing towards the cloud.

And it all turns to slow motion.

You didn't know if your body could handle this kind of energy. Not only were you unsure with how much electricity you could manage to absorb, but this was also the work of somebody's quirk. You had no idea how much power was packed into it.

But you knew you had a better chance of surviving this than the others.

None of them would able to withstand even a regular strike of lightening. It was inhuman to expect otherwise.

But you, had a chance.

So you have no choice but to act.

You couldn't let this lightening get past you. You knew you had to stop it in the air, at least while all the students got enough distance to remain safe from the blast.

You stiffen your body and clench your jaw, looking above you.

This is it.

The lightening rips down through the cloud, creating an ear-splitting noise loud enough to deafen the students. The huge white light pierces down, nearly blinding you in the process.

And your body intercepts the lightening.

The strike comes to meet your hands, and you immediately feel the change in power. You can feel every individual current injecting itself into your bloodstream.

You choke, and a scream rips up through your throat.

It is all too intense. Too hot!

"Y/N!"

"NO, Y/N!"

"SENSEI, HELP HER!"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, IDIOT?!"

The students below scream out in terror to you, watching your body shake as the lightening keeps pouring into you. Your hair stands up and rocks in the intense wind created by the force.

They are not running anymore.

Your arms bend at the elbows from the intense pressure of the attack, and in the midst of trying not to explode, you attempt to extort some of the power through your feet to combat the drawback from the lightening.

It's too strong.

The heat is immense.

But the extra energy being released from behind definitely helps. It pushes your body towards the force, while releasing some of its punch at the same time.

"DAMN IT-" you seethe, your whole body vibrating and clenched tight. As you fight against the surge, you look down at Aizawa who looks terrified below you. "GET THEM...OUT OF HERE!"

Your body is flashing white.

Waves and waves of heat are rocketing over the field below you. It is blowing the grass and pushing the students back.

"AIZAWAAA!"

Aizawa grunts and swings towards the students. He points at them, urgency painting his face with rage.

He knew that him and all the other students were in danger, too.

"INSIDE, NOW!" he orders.

The students all obey their teacher, despite wanting to stay. Some of them wanted to help, but they also knew how incapable of handling the situation they were.

And so, not wanting to go against their teacher, they run.

Another painful scream echoes over the field, and an idea pops into your head.

You just need to reverse it.

That's it!

Whoever is at the source of this power, you doubt that they'd be able to handle all of it being shot right back at them.

With the added heat of your plasma, it would create an explosion! No, that's too dangerous. The students are still too close. You have to aim to reverse the charge, without overdoing it.

And so, with that thought, you switch the trajectory.

You feel the influence switch in your favour as you desperately reverse the currents filling up your veins and raising the temperature of your body to new, dangerous levels.

In a matter of a few seconds, you completely flip the script, and export the energy.

The thick stream that had connected you to the clouds for the last ten seconds, slowly starts to turn purple.

A strained sound gurgles in your throat as you fight the resisting urge that was taking over your senses. Your own plasma crawls up the angry bolt, eating up all the white, and taking dominion over the situation.

You have tears in your eyes. The veins under your skin are glowing like a purple neon sign, and they're throbbing.

The veins are crawling up your arms where your uniform has been singed to ash, and crawling up your neck, onto your face.

Your eyes are brighter than ever.

You are pouring all of your might into this moment. You had never felt this much power in your control before, and you could tell that the balance of control was extremely delicate. You had to be careful not to tip the scale. You feel all of the energy flowing out of you in waves and it is such a relief to finally have an outlet.

It is then that Aizawa sees him. The person controlling the storm.

He gasps.

And in a flash, Aizawa erases his quirk and everything comes to an immediate stop.

The silence is so loud.

The clouds that had been keeping the attacker hidden fizzle out and disappear in the sky in a split second, the lightening and charges in the air completely disperse all at once. The man himself starts to fall out of the sky, and the same thing happens to you.

You fall forward, not having enough time to assess what is happening.

One second, you were completely overwhelmed by the immense power, there was a loud surging sound in your ears and you could barely see anything aside from the bright purple light taking your entire field of vision.

And then next, it's all silent.

And you crash into the ground.

Aizawa throws his scarf binds around the man that had fallen only a few metres away, taking away his opportunity to run.

Kirishima and Midoriya run right to you.

"REI!"

"Y/N!"

A moment after you hit the ground, your body still in shock, you bring your leg underneath you and try to stand up before your entire body tips back, and your eyes roll to the back of your head.

As the students are running towards you, you breathe out a single last breath, and topple over onto the floor.

"Y/N!"

The two boys fall to their knees beside you, and the others are only seconds behind them.

Midoriya is mystified by the purple veins that are glowing under your skin. He can still hear a faint zapping sound, and it terrifies him. He had just witnessed his classmate being struck by lightening.

And not only that, but you had combated it, too.

Kirishima quickly reaches down to your head in hopes of helping, but the sound of his flesh sizzling and the immediate pain forces him to jump back.

"CRAP! TOO HOT!"

Kirishima turns to his teacher who is busy keeping the villain bound on the floor.

"AIZAWA SENSEI, SHE'S-"

"Move out of the way." Bakugou's voice suddenly takes over the crowd and it parts down the centre to let him through. "Give her to me."

Bakugou bends down and tucks his arms under your limp body, picking you up, and not reacting to the pain at all.

If anything, his body was accustomed to it.

"If you can't handle the heat, get the f*ck out of the way. She needs to cool down."

Bakugou starts marching past the crowd with you in his arms, not listening to anyone calling out after him. He knew that you were overheating, as he himself was familiar with it.

But then, he turns back around to call out to his teacher.

"Oi, Aizawa! Which direction is the pool?"

Chapter 18: Escort

Chapter Text

"How is she doing?"

"Her temperature is back to normal, now." one of the school nurses explains to Aizawa, holding a sheet with your information on it. "It seems that your student's attempt at cooling her down was a success."

"Good."

"It was Todoroki, right? Todoroki Shouto. He used his ice to cool her skin?"

"Yes. The students orchistrated that without my authority, but at the time I was preoccupied."

"Well, I think they did the right thing. It worked very well, and she's going to be okay."

Aizawa massages his temple, trying to ease his seething headache. "I'm relieved that Bakugou didn't jump in the pool with her, that would have poised some discomfort for her, I think. We're lucky Todoroki was there to help."

"...That was the plan?"

"Unfortunately, yes. One of the students thought that the fastest way to cool her down was to throw her in the campus pool. But luckily, the other students convinced him not to."

"I guess...that would have also worked."

"It would've been less than ideal."

"Was it the student that brought her in that suggested that?"

"I believe so."

"Wow. That's interesting. Well, even though the situation was quite dangerous and Rei was definitely at risk of some real injuries, it seemed that she would have been okay either way."

Aizawa glances down at you, co*cking his head. "Really? I wasn't sure. That whole ordeal was very...alarming."

"Oh, it was. What she did was definitely a dangerous move. It definitely would have killed her, if not for her power. And, from what I hear, that guy's lightening would have done pretty severe damage if it had gotten past her. It's my guess that she saved the other students from a very deadly crisis."

"That was my observation, too."

"However, after she passed out, if for instance, Todoroki wasn't there on hand to cool her down, she still would have inevitably cooled off on her own. It was indeed a perk to have Todoroki to speed up the process, but, just in case you're beating yourself up about it, you can rest assured, she was going to be okay either way. I think it was a pretty standard case of quirk overuse." the nurse glances down at your sleeping form. "She's just exhausted, her body went through a lot. The voltage that she managed to withstand was insane, but i'm confident that she'll wake up soon."

"Good. And where's the boy?"

"The one that brought her in? He's waiting in the hall." she looks back at the door, pointing her clipboard towards it. "He's quite... rude, isn't he?"

Aizawa nods. "He's stubborn, and strong-willed. I apologise for anything he might have said. I was busy dealing with our attacker, so I wasn't able to accompany him here."

"Don't worry about that. Is everything okay out there?"

Aizawa nods again, looking more relaxed. "The motives of the villain are still unclear. However, it did seem like an intentional attack on the school. He kept trying to get away and my eyes were starting to dry out, so I was forced to knock him unconscious. He's in police custody right now, but there will be an interrogation awaiting him, whenever he wakes up."

Chapter 19: Familiarities

Chapter Text

It's the next day, and yesterday feels like months ago, for some odd reason.

But despite the intense stress that your body went through only one day before, you are lucky to feel completely normal this morning.

You walk into the 1-A classroom beside Kirishima, carrying your backpack and talking about how crazy the whole experience was yesterday.

Of course you talked about it.

It was all anybody wanted to talk about.

"Rei-san, that performance yesterday was totally insane!"

"Hey, you're okay! I'm surprised to see you back at school already!"

"I can't believe you just jumped up in front of that thing! I've never seen that kind of courage before!"

"You were so strong!"

Your eyes are wide as your class welcomes you with an intense, inconsiderate, interrogation. All the questions and excited faces that you weren't very familiar yet - coming at you, gives you the urge to curl up into the fetal position on the floor.

But Kirishima keeps you on your feet.

"Hey, Rei-chan, do you remember me? I met you in the exams, and we grappled yesterday." it's a sweet-looking boy with blonde hair, you did remember him from the exams. "And I was thinking, you know, that maybe we could be friends. Despite the fact that you totally beat my ass in the exam. Damn, that was humiliating!"

His words are earnest but you can tell that he's joking.

"Leave her alone Denki," Kirishima chuckles, throwing his arm around the boy that had approached you. "She's not easy. You're gonna have to work harder than that to sway her."

You chuckle nervously, and feel extremely embarrassed.

"Sure, we can be friends," you mutter under your breath, and you fight back an enormous grin as your next word comes to the surface. "Pikachu."

At first he looks shocked and offended, but a second later, his expression turns to real amusem*nt and he smiles wide. Then he offers his hand out for a fist-bump.

And then, an excited tap on your shoulder forces you to turn your head.

"Hey, Rei-chan, you know that yesterday was the first ever villain attack on a school, and you totally took him on alone!"

Your eyes double in size.

"N-No I didn't!" you jump at Ashido standing beside you. You wave your hands desperately denying her claim. "Aizawa Sensei was the only reason that guy actually stopped. I mean, I barley even withstood-"

"Don't be so humble, Rei-san."

Your head turns again to a very quiet and reserved voice, and don't have any idea who you're going to meet.

When you see him, you do briefly recall seeing his face a few times.

He is standing only a few desks away from you with his hands in his pockets. He walks towards you, and he is not wearing his uniform correctly, missing a tie and leaving the top few buttons undone. You only notice that because your uniform is the same.

"I..."

Who is this guy?

"I'm not sure if we've met. But, since we're going to be classmates for the next few years, I figure we might as well get familiar."

You stare at his hand as he holds it out in front of you.

The students standing around the two of you feel awkward and antsy by the fact that you are just staring at his offering, not moving, and not responding.

"Uh, Y/N? You okay?"

Ochaco's hand on your shoulder pulls you out of your daze.

You blink a few thousand times, and look up to the tall man again.

"Shinsou Hitoshi. It’s a pleasure."

"Wow, so polite!"

"I must say, his manners are a refreshing contrast to some of the other boys." Yaoyorozu's voice turns to a careful whisper. "Like Bakugou."

Finally, after a lifetime of hesitating, you reach your hand out and take his. The two of you share a firm shake, and he smiles.

"Uh...Rei Y/N."

"I'm aware." he says. Then, he turns away and heads back to his desk.

You feel a little stunned, but the voices around you resume back to obnoxiously high decibels in record time. Your head starts to swing back and forth as the students start shouting their questions again.

"So, did it hurt?"

"Did Bakugou really throw you in the pool!?"

"Your quirk is kind of similar to Kaminari's, right? If you can stop lightening, that is."

"Don't be stupid! Kaminari couldn't stop a light bulb!"

"HEY!"

"Hey, I got a question!" somebody new comes forward, waving their hands. "So, when the lightening started to turn purple, that was your quirk, right? That was you fighting against the storm?"

Silence falls.

It is immediately suffocating.

You gulp and blink nervously as all of the students lean towards you, curious about your answer.

"Uh..." you look left and right. "Yeah. I mean, I tried."

"WOOOOWW!"

"I KNEW IT!"

"THATS INSANE!"

The loud sound of a chair screeching across the ground takes your attention, and everybody that had surrounded you in a tight circle.

"EVERYBODY, PLEASE!" Iida Tenya flicks his stiff hand through the air, looking angry at everyone around you. "GIVE OUR FELLOW CLASSMATE SOME SPACE! SHE IS PROBABLY STILL RECOVERING, AND ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS ARE HIGHLY INCONSIDERATE! I MUST SAY, I'M DISAPPOINTED!"

"STOP f*ckING YELLING, FOUR-EYES!"

"I'M JUST LOOKING OUT FOR-"

"Take your seats."

Aizawa's voice splits the classroom in two. It seems that everybody notices him at the same time, and you all scurry to your desks without looking to the door.

You all take your seats and sit up straight, staring at your teacher who had quietly shuffled into the room.

Once everybody is silent, you glance over your shoulder and whisper a very short 'thank you' to Iida, appreciating his looking out for you.

"Miss Rei. How are you feeling today?" Aizawa directs his voice towards you, taking you by surprise. "Do you feel up to school work?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Better than ever." you smile, showing that you weren't lying.

Because the truth was, you felt amazing.

If anything, the events that unfolded yesterday had done nothing but charge you up. You felt full of energy, which you probably were.

You were at 100%.

"Glad to hear it. I'll talk to you after homeroom, if you don't mind."

"Sure."

You glance to your right and see Kirishima smiling at you warmly with a thumbs up.

You fight back a laugh, and return the thumbs up.

"Alright, students, today we have a big class on Hero Informatics," Aizawa stands in front of his podium, his eyes grazing over the whole class. "Look alive, because you all need code names."

Everybody is immediately paying close attention to his instructions.

"Today, you're going to pick your hero names."

——————

After school, you had a plan to go out for dinner with all of your friends from Musutafu Heights High, but Niko and Amelie had an unexpected exam, so they had to cancel.

Midoriya and Uraraka had their own reasons to postpone too, so you decided to scrap the whole thing and meet up next week when things cooled down.

So you walk out of school with your earphones in, and a bitter look on your face.

Because the truth was, you were disappointed.

You were really looking forward to a nice dinner with your friends. You wanted to talk about all the crazy things that had been happening in your life, and you wanted to hear how they were doing too.

When you lift your head, you see someone leaning against the wall.

His head is low and he looks entirely too casual.

Instinctively, you pull out one of your earphones as you pass him.

"Are you waiting for someone?" you ask him.

He lifts his head, getting a good look at you. His one leg is poised on the wall behind him, but he drops it when he sees you.

"Yeah. You."

"Me?" you almost gasp. "What? Why?"

"Do you always have to ask so many questions?" he huffs, rolling his eyes and standing up off the wall.

You stare at him, more than a little confused.

Bakugou starts to walk off in the same direction that you had been walking. You stay behind for a few seconds, trying to figure out what game he was playing.

And you are shocked when he stops walking and turns over his shoulder to look at you.

"Well? Ya coming?"

Without words, you shake your head and jog to catch up to him, pulling your bag further up your shoulders, and you take out your other earphone.

The two of you walk in silence for a long while.

You wanted to ask him about why he was insistent on walking with you, since you were sure Aizawa had not instructed it today.

But instead of making the situation even more awkward than it was, you decided to ask him about something else.

"So, we have to turn in our offical hero code names tomorrow. Have you decided what you're going with?"

He doesn’t look at you. "Yup."

"...Well?"

"You first."

"Oh, well. Yeah. I was thinking either 'Violet', or maybe 'Cinder'. I haven't exactly decided yet."

He takes his time responding.

"Cinder is way cooler." he suddenly claims boldly, keeping his eyes low on the path in front of him, watching each step. "Use that one."

You had never heard his voice so low and reserved.

You kind of liked him when he was being quiet.

"Right. And, what's yours?"

"Lord Explosion Murder God: Dynamite." he says it quietly and quickly, which almost makes you laugh.

You look left at him, trying to get a glimpse of his pensive eyes that were covered by his hair.

And then he suddenly looks up at you. "Well? It's badass, right? Definitely the best name in the class."

"Personally," You chuckle nervously. "I think just 'Dynamite' alone would be better. There's too many syllables in the other one. Plus, Dynamite sounds awesome."

Bakugou scoffs. "Yeah, whatever. Like I need your advice."

At the first sign of his rudeness, your energy immediately flips, and you lose interest in entertaining the conversation. "Okay, sissy. Don't ask then."

And, again, silence is what sits between you.

It’s almost suffocating, walking beside someone for so long without sharing any words.

But, alas, you don’t talk to each other again.

And when you finally arrive to your street, you peel off away from him, and wave goodbye.

He nods at you once, and walks off without words.

“f*cking weirdo,” you whisper, as you march off to your building.

Chapter 20: Best Interest

Chapter Text

It is finally Saturday.

Finally, you get to relax.

Your first week at the Hero Academy had been difficult, but it had also felt like a blessing from God, sent just for you.

You had propelled forward in your class, made a positive name for yourself amongst your fellow classmates from your actions, and asserted a sort of dominance that you knew would come in handy. And, you had made what some would call, a new friend.

Or few.

On Friday, you finally got to put some names to all the new faces that you were working alongside. You became somewhat familiar with most of the students, at least introducing yourself to those that you hadn't yet.

You could feel your own popularity in the class. People seemed to flock towards you whenever they had the chance. And it was admittedly kind of distressing figuring out how many of them were drawn to you for your charisma, compared to the inevitable few who were only interested in your power.

Although you didn't see it as showboating, you could feel that you were at the very top of the class in terms of power, and skill. Nobody was on your level.

It was exhilarating, and terrifying.

Your classmates all had their own strengths, many of which surpassed yours in different ways, but as for who had the crown as most powerful? You, and anybody with a pair of eyes, could tell that it was you.

You were, however, very aware of your biggest threats. Though, they didn't feel like that.

Todoroki and Bakugou were both not far off you, in terms of strength alone. And there were many others, too, that had quirks that could do things that you couldn't hope to do.

But you saw them all as teammates, if anything. Friends. People who were on the same path as you, as you all had a common goal.

Things felt good.

You were skeptical about opening up to all the people who were trying to get into your circle, but at least you knew that you could trust the friends that had come from your previous school with you.

Izuku, Ochaco, and Eijirou.

All of which you knew would have your back, if it really came down to it. Everyone else you were still unsure about.

But time would tell.

For right now, you are enjoying yourself entirely too much to be thinking of everything that could go wrong.

You had already achieved some of your biggest goals, and officially had your foot in the door of the room where your future was waiting for you. Things were looking up, and you were on a winning streak.

That thought makes you smile at your laptop in your room, as you finally start paying attention to the movie you were watching.

You took the morning off to lounge around, eating snacks and enjoying some well-earned down time.

You were freshly showered, in basketball shorts and a baggy tee. You had your favourite socks on, and your hair was bouncy and soft. Everything felt normal and calm.

Until you hear a knock at the front door.

Knowing that your mother was useless when it came to answering to visitors, you vault out of bed to go and see who was at the house.

You jog down the stairs, swing on the guardrail, and slide to the front door. You open it up and your face falls in shock.

"Aizawa?"

"Good afternoon, Rei."

"What are you doing here?"

"I apologise for the unexpected visit. But, today I am doing the rounds for the entire class. I've come to speak to you and your guardian."

"What? What do you want to speak to mom about?" the idea of those two people meeting had your bones trembling under your skin.

"Did you receive the news letter that was sent out last night?"

"...Not that i'm aware of."

"Well, that's why i'm here. May I come in?"

"Who the hell is at the door?!"

You flinch at your mother's voice.

f*ck. There's really no avoiding this.

Sheepishly, you close the door a little and turn to look towards the kitchen, your face wincing.

"It's one of my teachers from school!"

"What do they want?!"

You open the door again and turn to face Aizawa, looking tense and disturbed. You then turn back around and shout out, "To talk to you!"

You turn back to your teacher once more, and your lips press into a flat line.

You step out of the way, and open the door some more.

"Come in."

——————

"So, to summarise, U-A filed an application to the government to apply for an upgrade in funding for safety regulations on campus. And after quite a long battle, it was actually your daughter's clash with the villain a few days ago that finally gave our government the push that they needed to approve our application. So, we received the extra funds, and were able to finish building a large dormitory facility on campus. It is called 'Heights Alliance'. The dorms will be finished and ready for move-in come Monday, and-"

"Whoa, slow the f*ck down."

"Mom, language!"

Your mom shakes her head, sitting on the couch beside you, and facing your teacher who was on the adjacent sofa.

"What the hell are you talking about? 'Villain'?"

Aizawa glances at you, and his eyes ask you the question without his lips needing to.

You simply close your eyes and nod your head once, embarrassed to be in this situation. The whole thing made you want to curl back up in bed and rot there for the rest of eternity.

"You...haven't heard? Well, last week, our school was attacked by a villain. And it was your daughter here who managed to subside the attack with her quirk, successfully preventing a potential-"

"What the hell is a quirk?"

Your mother was not pissed drunk, but she was a long ways away from sober.

You shake your head. "I'll explain later, Mom. Aizawa Sensei is probably on a time limit."

"Alright, so why are you here then?"

You can read Aizawa's face like an open book. You can see that he is confused and wildly stunned by your mother's outlandish character. You can see that he is questioning her sobriety, too. He didn't expect this. Any of it. He can't tell if she is under the influence, or just naturally a primitive, vulgar person. And he is trying his best to maintain a placid expression, but he is failing miserably.

He takes a deep breath. "I have come here to offer the new living quarters available to the students. I'd like to humbly ask for your permission, and for you to entrust us with the wellbeing of your child."

"You want her to move into your dorms?"

"Precisely."

"Why?"

"Mom, he already explained that."

"Because we believe that it is in her best interest. Given the course that Y/N is in, and the growing risk of criminal activity around Japan at the moment, we as a school feel as though it is imperative to their safety and training that we house them on campus." he goes on to explain, glancing at you every once in a while. "And i'd like to assure you that we have top-notch 24/7 security monitoring, and plenty of other measures are constantly being taken to ensure their safety with us."

"Won't that cost a f*ckton?"

"No, ma'am." Aizawa shakes his head. "The new living quarters will be one-hundred percent free to any students in the hero course."

"Ya sure? There isn't some kinda catch?"

"As I said, we have received the extra government funding that we applied for. We are now in a situation to financially support the students at our school, and we will take great pride in doing so."

"Well in that case, yeah, get her the f*ck outta here. I'd save a whole lotta money on water and food if she wasn't living here anymore."

Your mom can't even look at you.

You doubt she even understands what she is agreeing to.

"Mom-"

"Thank you, Mrs Rei. And please, do not worry, as it will be our top priority to ensure-"

"I'm not worried." she shrugs. "As long as she can still help with the rent here, take her."

Aizawa turns his head to look at you, and his eyes slack behind. He awaits your input, but you just shake your head and look down into your lap.

"Very well." Aizawa bows his head down low. "Thank you for the trust. We will all do our best."

"Sure," your mom suddenly stands up from the couch, and goes to leave the room. "Y/N, see your teacher out, and order a pizza when he's gone."

You feel humiliated.

And your body language depicts that as you drag your feet when you stand, gesturing for Aizawa to follow you to the front door.

You let him pass you and you tag behind him.

"Hey, Aizawa, listen."

He immediately stops walking on the path our the front and turns back around to face you. You close the door behind you quietly, and find it hard to bring your eyes off the ground.

"I'm sorry but...I can't move into the dorms."

His face drops. "What?"

"It's not like I don't want to. I mean, it sounds like the best opportunity i've been offered in a long time. But, it's just..." you bring your hands in front of you and squeeze them together to sooth yourself. "My mom needs me at home."

Aizawa's body shifts to face you front-on. "Did she say that to you? Was there some kind of silent conversation between you that I was not a part of?"

"No. No, she didn't say anything. But, I-I do a lot for her here. And I can't really get into the details, but, please just- just understand that she needs me. I have responsibilities here."

"Are you telling me that you are unable to commit to the Hero Course?"

"What?! No! No, sir. Not at all. When i'm at school, I will always give it my best. This course is my top priority! But, I just, need to be able to come home."

You glance over your shoulder at the door. "She...needs me around."

Aizawa stares at you intently, assessing your face for signs as to why you had come to this conclusion.

He could tell that there was more to the story. Perhaps a lot of things that you didn't have the freedom or courage to say out loud.

And he understood that.

"Very well...i'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed."

You lowered your head again.

"And you do understand that this could lead to you falling behind your classmates? You will miss out on lots of benefits that the other students will have."

You nod. "I'll do my best to keep up."

He hesitates. "Then i'll support you however I can. And, please know that should the situation change, my offer will still stand. I will keep an empty room for you if you change your mind." Aizawa sort of smiles. "And I hope you'll do so."

You look back up, and tears are forming in your eyes.

"Thank you, Aizawa. I promise I won't fall behind."

He nods his head firmly, and the smile on his face sparks a sense of encouragement. You feel like smiling, too.

"I'll hold you to that. See you Monday."

You wave goodbye as he gets in his car, and drives away from your house.

You stand still in the walkway for a moment. You breathe out, and your breath is shaky as you fight back tears, and try to swallow the lump in your throat.

And you turn around, and go back inside.

Chapter 21: Striker

Chapter Text

The sounds from downstairs could easily be mistaken for a horror movie.

The smashing and thudding made you feel grossly sick, knowing all too well what was going on down there.

You already had a big day, working your part-time job as a barista, and your body was sore, aching and exhausted. It was a Sunday, but it certainly didn't feel like you'd had a relaxing weekend.

And as much as you don't want to, you know that you have to check on your mom.

There were waves of nausea rolling through your stomach, as you tip-toed down the stairs. Your intuition had a loudspeaker in your ear and it was telling you to stay upstairs, and to avoid an interaction with her.

But your mother has had many accidents in her drunken states over recent years. Many that could have been avoided if you had been there to stop them. You knew deep down that it was better to stay out of her way when she went off on her rampages, but a part of you couldn't help at least watching out for her.

You climb down the stairs slowly, holding the guardrail, and swallowing your festering concern. "Mom?"

You walk around the corner into the kitchen and immediately see her drunkenly swaying with an empty bottle in hand. She looks absolutely pathetic, and that very fact crushes you.

Your heart aches in your chest.

You wanted more for her than this life. Drinking away her sorrows, and blaming you for the pain.

She deserved so much more.

Hatred was an iron shackle on her ankle, that you wished you could free her from.

You sigh, preparing yourself mentally. "Mom, put the bottle down, it's empty anyway."

You had not seen her quite this drunk in a long time. Her legs had stopped doing their job hours ago, and any space in her brain for logical thinking had been filled up with vodka.

Her eyes were hollow. There was seemingly no human left inside.

And somehow, she was still angry.

"STOP IT!" her words were slurred and disheartening. You knew you'd be doing her a favour if you just got her to her bedroom. But that was easier said than done. "Leave me alone."

She was worse than a toddler. Much worse.

"Mom, please." You reached for the bottle and she pulls it away, holding it high over her head, and leaning back over the bench far enough to almost tip over.

"MOM! Just give it here. Let's go to bed, please."

You try to reach the bottle, standing on your tippy toes, and holding her shoulder to try and stretch past her.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Then you hear a creaking sound.

Your head spins around and you notice the rice cooker falling off the top cabinet. And faster than you even have time to think, your body swings around and you catch it with both hands to stop it from shattering on the ground.

"f*cking BRAT!"

You don't have even a split second to breathe or put down the cooker before your mom smashes the empty glass bottle over the back of your head.

And it all goes black.

——————

You open your eyes.

And close them again.

You blink a few times.

And blink some more.

And then you notice a strange light coming from all angles that at first, you aren't sure what to make of. So you blink a few more times.

You try to lick your lips, immediately realising how alarmingly dry your entire mouth was. And there was a thickness on your tongue that tasted like iron.

The questions start to flood, and a sense of panic starts to kick in which heightens all of your senses. You then realise that the light from before was actually the sun—it was already morning. That realisation really wakes you up.

What the hell happened?

It felt like you'd woken up from a blackout drunken co*ke bender, followed by a train-wreck. You'd never felt worse.

The ground is cold on your skin. You realise you're in the kitchen, on the floor. You are stiff and alone and cold. Why aren't you in bed?

You somehow find the will to turn onto your side, trying to use your arms which were weak and numb and had pins and needles. They had no hope of supporting your body weight.

You remember the fight with your mom, and a new concern comes to your attention.

You grit your teeth in pain as you bring your legs to your chest and roll onto your knees, nursing yourself in child's pose for a moment. Your back desperately needed the stretch. Every part of you is hurting, but your heart takes the cake.

That's when you feel the stickiness on your hands. You look down and there is a pool of blood where you had been lying.

It rocks you with fear. Vomit threatens to come up but you fight back the nausea.

You sit up and start to pat around your body, your eyebrows wincing from the overall pain and tightness of all your muscles. And then your hand comes to find the back of your head, where it meets a warm wet patch. The hair is matted and knotty and you can feel a gash in the centre—and it hurts like nothing you've ever felt.

A splitting headache comes in as if on queue.

You close your eyes and wince, sucking air through your teeth and holding both palms to your temples.

"f*ck."

You have to find your mom, and make sure she is okay.

So you muster up all the strength you have, and hold on to the bench to pull yourself to your feet. You are unsteady and rocky and more than a little dizzy.

The thumping in your head is making you blind, but you take your first step anyway.

You walk out of the kitchen very slowly, clutching the side of your head, wishing it would take away the seething pain in the back of it.

You leave the kitchen and come into the living room, only to see your mom passed out on the couch.

The smashed bottle handle is still in her hand.

Your heart is crying for her. But you don't think you can spare the liquid.

With heavy feet and a sad heart, you quietly shuffle over to the couch and very gently pry the handle out of her hand.

You grab the blanket that was sitting on top of the couch spine, and you drape it over her body.

Seeing her like this kills you.

But from experience, you know that all you can do is to keep on loving her. Supporting her, and keeping her safe. If the government found out about your situation, or anyone for that matter, you're sure they'd send CPS to assess her ability to care for you. And she'd undoubtably fall short, leaving you in the hands of the childcare system.

You'd much prefer to live with this awkward, uncomfortable, sometimes painful situation than in public housing with a bunch of strangers.

Plus, you didn't want her to end up alone either. She was just trying her best, even in moments like last night when she hit you—she was just overwhelmed and angry and you copped the brunt of her hurt.

Maybe she'd come around one day.

Maybe she'd get a reality check.

But you're not going to be the person to give it to her. So, you walk back to the kitchen, wincing with every step, and you throw the bottle into the bin. You then kneel onto the ground and pick up the big shards left over, and you now remember what happened.

You throw some paper towels over your patch of blood to leave it to soak up, and you turn around to the sink.

Your throat is choking on a steely, coppery taste, and you need water. You fill up the first glass you see and down it in seconds. It hurts to swallow, and you can smell the blood.

As soon as you finish the glass, you reach into your back pocket and find your phone. You pull it out, and miraculously, it didn't die overnight.

You have lots of missed texts but you don't have the energy or the steady eyesight to read them.

You thin your eyes into slits just to read the time on the very bright screen, and find it to already be 7:02AM.

Your second week of school starts in an hour.

f*ck.

Very quickly, you fill up the glass once more and dig around in the cabinet to find some painkillers. You rush them over and leave them on the coffee table beside your mom, before heading up the stairs.

You make sure to hold the guardrail, and watch where you step.

You have a haste in your steps, even though they are unsteady, and you make your way into the bathroom next to your bedroom.

You flick on the light and dread floods your bones.

You look at yourself in the mirror, and the sight is borderline horrific.

You have dark circles under your eyes that are also red and watery. There is dried blood running down your collarbones, and all over your neck. There is blood on your hands, and all over your shirt from yesterday.

Your hair is matted and dirty, and your cheeks are red. Your expression is no easier to look at.

"f*ck," you hiss, knowing this was less than ideal for the first day of your second week.

You need to get clean.

So quickly, you turn on the shower. You strip yourself bare, cussing and hissing at the pain that movement is bringing to your body.

Your head is throbbing with at least three different types of pain.

You stumble into the shower, and fight the urge to cry as you force yourself to resist the pain of the hot water on your gash. But you knew that you needed to wash the blood out of your hair.

Five minutes later, you exit the shower, wrap yourself in a towel, and wipe away the fresh blood that was still spilling down your neck.

This was bad.

You throw your hair into the towel in hopes of stopping the blood flow, and you leave the steamy bathroom, soon to find your bedroom.

You get dressed quickly into your school uniform, keeping your hair in the towel, and you desperately apply some concealer and eyeliner in hopes of hiding how bad your eye-bags were.

You are dizzy and unstable moving around your room as you gather your supplies for school.

And in record time, you are ready.

You take your towel off your head, and throw your hair into a messy low bun, in hopes of covering the gash.

Then you grab your backpack, your blazer, and a beanie on your way out.

And you rush to school.

Chapter 22: Spilled Blood

Chapter Text

"Y/N! Your hair is still wet!"

You force a fake smile and shake your head at Ochaco, walking beside her into the school.

Of all the days she could have intercepted you at the entrance, of course it had to be today.

"I know." You sigh. "I didn't have time to dry it this morning."

"That's no good, you could catch a cold!" she seems genuinely concerned about you, which was the last thing you wanted. "Is that why you're wearing a beanie? To keep your head warm?"

"Yeah," you lie, maintaining your fake smile with all of the energy you could muster. "But I bet our teacher will make me take it off straight away."

"Yeah, that's likely...just, make sure to keep your blazer on, okay? It would suck to get a cold right now."

"I'll be okay."

"HEY GUYS!"

Really, God? Now?

You both turn around and slow your walk slightly as you wait for Kirishima to catch up with you.

He comes between you and throws his arms around both of your shoulders. You wince at the impact, but quickly try to hide it.

"How are ya? How was your weekend? Whoa, Rei-chan, you okay? You look totally beat."

You laugh him off. "I'm fine, just had a sh*tty sleep last night. Woke up late, and had a hectic morning."

"Damn, that sucks. Today is probably gonna be really hard to get through."

"Tell me about it."

—————

Everybody is in class, waiting for the teacher to arrive.

There is a steady hum of chatter in the room, which you are trying to drown out by looking out the window. You do your best to not look like you need attention, as it's the last thing you want right now.

"Morning, Rei-chan! Are you excited about moving into the dorms tonight?"

Midoriya and a bunch of others approach your desk. Bakugou is silent on your left and Kirishima tunes in attentively on your right.

"Oh, actually, no." you turn to face him and shake your head solemnly. "Actually, i'm not moving into dorms."

"WHAT?" he shouts. "But- but everybody is! All of the other students are!"

"I know," you sulk in agreement. "It sucks."

"But the teachers said that it's gonna be super beneficial for our training. And having everyone together is sure to be fun!"'

"I'm sure it will be, but I can't."

Everybody standing around can feel the genuine sadness radiating off of your body. It was like you were being followed by a rain cloud, but all you were thinking about was dreading taking off your beanie.

"Is your mom worried about you because of the villain attack? Is something else wrong?"

"No," you shake your hand in the air. "She just said I couldn't."

"Whaaaat? Man, that totally sucks!" Kirishima says, looking extremely disappointed and almost angry on your behalf. "That's so unfair!"

"Well, actually, my mom almost said no to me, too. But, since we had a pro hero visit us and he practically begged my mom to let me go, he finally managed to sway her."

"Whoa, you had a hero come to ask your family?"

"Yeah! He's super popular at the moment. You've probably seen him on TV, does 'All Might' ring a bell?"

"YEAH! Wow! That's so lucky! Isn't he the top hero in Japan right now?"

Midoriya nods quickly, "I think so! Anyway, he was able to convince my mom to let me move in, so, maybe he could do the same for you, Rei-san? We could ask the teachers!"

You sigh, "Thanks, but, my mom's a tyrant. Once she makes up her mind on something, there's just about nothing that will change it."

"She sounds just like you," Bakugou scoffs under his breath, scowling out the window.

You turn to look at him, your face contorting at the accidental insult, and even you are shocked by how much his little joke hurt you.

You didn't want to be anything like her.

"Well...yeah," you stutter, looking back at Midoriya. "It's pretty disappointing."

You lean your forehead down onto your desk in defeat but then you remember the back of your neck might still have blood residue, and you immediately sit back up straight, and stiff as a rock.

"Man...i'm really sorry, Y/N. I was looking forward to having lots of fun with you and everyone else in the dorms."

You turn to Kirishima, your face softening.

"I know, me too."

Everybody around you is obviously cut by this new information. You were so far, the only student who wouldn't be moving into the dorms, and being left out of something like that was killing you.

And while some of the others wanted to pitch ideas on how you could possibly convince your mom, it was evident in your eyes that you had already given up hope.

"Good morning, students."

Your eyes flick up to your teacher, and you cross your feet under the desk.

The students that had been surrounding you before all quickly make way back to their seats, and everybody shifts their attention to Aizawa.

You deeply hope that he doesn't comment on the beanie, though it was likely going to be in vain.

His eyes come to you almost instantly.

"Rei, take the hat off please."

f*ck. He noticed it immediately.

Your face immediately goes red. "Can I please go to the bathroom?"

"Why didn't you go in the free time before class started? We're only just beginning."

"Um, i'm having a bad hair day."

Aizawa sighs with frustration and drags his hands down his face. "Fine. Make it quick."

You jump out of your chair and rush out of the room.

—————

In the bathroom, after making sure that all of the stalls were empty, you remove your beanie, and take out your hair.

You look at yourself in the mirror to check out the damage, and to your absolute relief, there doesn't seem to be much blood pooling up.

You could probably get away with it at this rate.

As much as it hurts to touch it and move your hair around the open wound, you throw another messy bun up, except this time, directly over the top of the cut.

The idea was to hide the injury behind your hair, so anybody sitting behind you wouldn't notice it if they were to stare at the back of your head.

And although it's not perfect, it's the best you can do.

So you say a quick prayer, and head back to class.

—————

In the class just after lunch, you finally start to feel a little better.

You still have a seething headache and are dizzy and exhausted.

But on lunch break, you had finally gotten some food and liquids into your system, which your body desperately needed.

You managed to avoid getting caught in the cafeteria, and up until this point, had almost forgotten about your injury (aside from the intense pain that you had just gotten used to).

You were sitting in class paying attention to Aizawa.

"So, I take it everybody has decided on their hero names?"

"YES, SIR!"

"Good to hear. Then if you'll all give a warm welcome to my fellow teacher and pro hero, Miss Midnight."

The raunchy woman comes strolling into the room as if she's on broadway, flailing her arms around mad and cheering when she makes her way to the front of the room.

"Midnight is much more suited to this kind of thing, so she'll be overseeing your choices. She'll give tips and suggestions on how you can all improve them." Aizawa's voice is croaky and bored, and shortly after, he walks off into one corner of the room, and takes out a sleeping bag. "Take it away, Midnight."

"Awesome! I am so excited for this! Well, who wants to go first?!"

Your eyes flick towards Ashido as her hand flies up. "ME!"

"Great initiative, Ashido! Grab your whiteboard and get up here!"

Ashido very happily takes her board and skips up to the front of the class. "For my hero name, I chose...PINKY!"

"I LOVE IT!" Midnight loudly cheers, squishing her own face up in excitement. "It matches your quirk, and it's cute and lighthearted! Perfect!"

Ashido bows and heads back to her seat, smiling with pride.

"Moving on, that's going to be hard to beat. So who's next?" Midnight hums, her eyes trailing around the class. "How about you, Bakugou?"

Instinctively, you look at him.

"Yeah, whatever," he huffs, pulling himself out of his seat and dragging his feet across the room. He stands up the front and pauses.

"The name I chose is 'Dynamite'."

You feel your heart skip a beat in your chest, and you aren't really sure why.

Maybe because he was looking directly at you when he said that.

Your face starts to turn red.

"And you extras better not forget it! Since i'm gonna be number one, you'll be hearing a lot of this name."

"Humble..." Midnight mutters sarcastically. "Anyway, it's dynamic and cool, and perfectly matches your explosive quirk! I think that's a fantastic choice. Great job, Bakugou!"

"Mm." he grunts and walks back to his seat, plopping down into it and forcing himself to look out the window.

"Now who would-"

"Sorry to interrupt."

It is Todoroki's voice that sends the class and teacher into an anticipating, nervous silence.

"But, Rei?" he grabs your attention and you keep your eyes forward, frozen in fear. "You're bleeding."

Chapter 23: White Lies

Chapter Text

Your blood has run cold.

"Huh? Oh, that?" you feel a fake laugh come out against your will. "Don't worry, that's just a scab."

"No, it's not. It's bleeding down your shirt."

"Holy crap, Y/N! That's a lot of blood!"

"What the hell happened? That looks bad! Your whole shirt is soaked!"

sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!

How did you not feel it? sh*t, this is bad.

Subconsciously, you lift your hand to cover the back of your head, and you turn around to all the students who are looking at you with horror painting their faces white.

"Are you okay, Rei? What happened?"

"I'm fine! Really," you continue to fake laugh in hopes of deescalating the situation. "It's really just a scratch."

Shouto stands up, concern thinning his eyes. "There's too much blood for it to be just a scratch. Aizawa Sensei, may I take her to the infirmary?"

You didn't even notice, but Aizawa was already back on his feet and staring straight at you.

"There's no need for that, Todoroki. I'm really okay!"

"Yeah right." Bakugou scoffs from beside you. "Dunno who you think you're fooling when you're bleeding that bad."

"Rei, please get up and go to the infirmity. And yes, Todoroki, if you'd escort her-"

"No! I'll go alone." you quickly stand up, desperate to get out of this situation as soon as possible. "Thank you. Sorry."

You grab your bag and rush out of the room, leaving nothing but a gust of wind behind.

Todoroki stammers, unsure if he should hold off or not. "Should I go after her, sir?"

Aizawa glares at the door for a while, before he turns his head back towards the class.

"No, take your seat. I'll phone the nurse in a few minutes to confirm that she made it there okay." Aizawa pulls out his phone. "Please continue, Midnight."

Midnight looks hesitant at first, but soon understands that it is obvious that Aizawa wants her to move on.

"Allllllrighty then. Who's next?"

—————

"Yes, I can see why they were concerned!" the nurse very gently pulls back the hair at the back of your head to get a better look at the injury. "This is no small cut, Rei!"

You wince as her fingers send spikes of pain through the length of your spine.

"It's going to need stitches. And, Recovery Girl will be back from break soon, so she can help fix you up."

"Who's Recovery Girl? Is she a nurse here?"

The woman is behind you, but you can tell she is nodding from the way her hands move against your head as she cleans around the area with alcohol wipes. "She's a new employee at the school, and a lovely old woman. She developed a healing quirk, which i'm sure is going to prove to be very helpful amongst you students. I get the feeling that you get into trouble a lot."

You scoff, "I guess so."

She laughs. "Well, she'll be back to heal you soon. For now, i'll have to sanitise and numb the area before I stitch it up. Are you okay sitting up while I work? Do you feel lightheaded?"

"No, i'm okay." you keep your neck stiff in hopes of preventing her from bumping the very painful area of skin that she was close to.

A few very painful minutes of poking and prodding later, and the area is completely numb.

You are overcome by immense relief, and you can barely feel her stitching the skin back together.

"Can I ask how this happened, Rei?"

You purse your lips, staring at the medical posters on the wall in front of you.

"I just got slammed in grappling training last period, and I missed the mat. My head hit the gym floor, and I guess it just split right open."

"Oh, I see." she hums. "That must have been very painful."

Your mind flashes back to the face of your mother as she struck you over the head with the vodka bottle.

"...It was." you are now in an absent dead-stare. "But i'm okay now."

"Alright, well, we're all done here. Now, if you want to sit back and relax while we wait for Recovery Girl to return, you're welcome to lie down. Just, maybe on your side."

You turn around and smile at her. "Thank you."

You lie down against the pillow, feeling comfort in the soft sheets and rock-hard bed beneath you. Considering where you had slept last night, even this hospital-esque slab of concrete bed felt like the most comfortable thing in the world.

You lay on your side and nuzzle into the pillow, unable to feel any pain in your head anymore.

"I'm going to go grab you some simple painkillers and a snack to make sure your blood sugar remains normal." she says as she is walking towards the door. "Are you okay on your own here for a moment?"

"Mhm~"

You didn't mean to be so informal while addressing her just then, but it was just the fact that as soon as your body sensed any kind of safety and comfort, it immediately went into hibernation mode.

You feel sleepy and lethargic on the bed, and you don't see yourself crawling out of it anytime soon.

So you close your eyes and let yourself relax.

——————

"Good afternoon."

Aizawa walks into the doctor's office casually.

"How's the star patient?"

"Good afternoon, Sir. She's doing fine, now. Recovery Girl came by and healed her up nice. She slept for an hour, and by the time she woke up, school was almost finished, so I sent her home. She was in no way to work, in my opinion. So I let the principal know."

"Okay. Thank you for that." Aizawa lets loose a sigh of relief. And he stares at the ceiling for a moment, "Excuse me, but, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Did she tell you what happened? How she got the laceration on her head?"

The nurse looks skiddish and nervous as he brings up the topic. She looks away, clutching her clipboard to her chest. "Yeah. She mentioned that she slipped off the mat in combat training. She said that she hit her head on the floor."

Aizawa slips his hands into his pockets. He knew one thing for sure, and it was that on this particular day, your class didn't have any combat or grappling training classes.

"But, Aizawa? I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry, but, I feel like I need to inform you out of care for the student, that I am one-hundred percent certain that was not how she got the injury."

Aizawa glances towards the nurse, glad that she had also caught on.

"Yes?"

"The main giveaways were the fact that it was a relatively old injury. My best guess, a day or two old. And there was simply no way she hit her head on a flat surface such as the stadium floor, like she said she did. The edges of the injury were jagged and uneven, suggesting a very sharp edge, and blunt force trauma. Now it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to see that she obviously should have gotten it tended to when it first happened, but given the fact that she was dishonest with both when it happened, and how, I have a feeling that she might not be able to speak about it freely."

"...Good observations. So, you're confident that something else might be going on?"

She gently shakes her head no, and looks up through her eyebrows with a sudden sternness. "I can't in good conscience go around making assumptions about how my patients receive their injuries. I can only report my medical observations. And those are that this injury did not happen today, and, it was a sharp object that did it."

Aizawa nods slowly in understanding. "Thank you. I'll be sure to look into it."

"Good luck, Sir. Thank you for coming in."

He bows to her and takes his leave.

There was definitely something suspicious about the whole situation, and he knew it was important to figure out what was going on.

Your unease and obvious fear of your mother had raised alarms in his head. Everything about the situation was spewing red flags.

And as your teacher, he was more than a little concerned.

Chapter 24: Atomic Bomb

Chapter Text

You were lucky to have the kitchen to yourself while you made yourself a classic after-school snack.

As you are waiting for your bagel to finish toasting, happily ignoring your homework, you hear a sudden, steady knock at the front door.

You weren't exactly sure where your mom was, but you assumed it was the bathroom since she had been shuffling around the bottom floor not too long ago.

So you rush to the door to check who was visiting.

Confused and on edge, you swing the door open.

Bakugou is staring down at you with both hands in his pockets, and a smug grin on his lips.

"Baku-" your voice drops to a scared whisper, laced with poison. "What the hell are you-" You look over your shoulder and step out of the house, closing the door behind you as quickly as you could.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Your eyes are two vats of lava burning into him. He can feel the anxiety pouring out of you, and it almost seems contagious.

He scoffs. "You look rough."

Bakugou, for one thing, is clearly very entertained by the white bandage wrapped around your head. Lucky him. At least one of you was enjoying yourself.

"I'm serious. Why are you here?"

You keep glancing behind you every few seconds, nervous of your mom noticing that someone was here, and potentially coming outside. Bakugou picks up on your discomfort, and he sniffs in through his nose.

"So how many stitches did it need?"

Your eyebrows wince in rage. "Bakugou, cut the sh*t. Why the f*ck are you at my house?"

Yet another grin takes over his lips. "I'm here to take you up on your promise."

Your face pulls into a cringe. "The f*ck are you talking about?"

"Our fight. Did you think i'd forget about it?" he raises his eyebrows. "Well, no. You promised me a fight, and i'm here to claim it."

"Seriously?" you let out an enormous sigh, frustrated by his stupid tenacity that was nothing but a thorn in your foot. "Christ."

You take a step towards him and push his shoulders back gently, trying to put some distance between him and the front door.

"Look, now isn't a good time." you keep your voice low and submissive, hoping the false-surrender would urge him to drop the topic. "We can organise it for a weekend, or something."

"And why is now no good?"

You don't even realise how agitated and jumpy you were acting. But your behaviour certainly didn't slip Bakugou's notice.

"I'm busy right now."

You try to be a firm and simple as you can, holding eye contact and trying to keep your jittery limbs still. You purse your lips and stare boldly up at him.

"Right. Well then, I guess i'll just wait for you to wrap up whatever you're doing." Bakugou waves his hand between you, moving both of your hands out of the way. Then, he steps around you and helps himself to the door handle.

"What? Hey!"

He pushes open the door to your house and steps inside, kicking off his shoes and looking up into the home.

You grab his bicep with both hands, trying to pull him back outside. "Bakugou, no! Not right now!"

He manages to tug you along as if you weighed nothing, and his grin was not faltering even for a second.

You suddenly stop fighting, stepping inside to desperately try and locate your mom. She was nowhere to be seen, and Bakugou was painfully stubborn.

"f*ck! You can't be in here!" you cuss quietly, and then you hear footsteps in the kitchen.

You immediately realise that you had to change your course of action, you had no choice. So, you grab ahold of his wrist and pull him past the door. You didn't have time to argue, if you didn't want to be caught by your mom.

You hold his wrist and run for the stairs.

You glance back at him once as you pull him up them swiftly. Bakugou sees the terror on your face and it genuinely shocks him.

He allows you to pull him up the stairs, and doesn't fight it when you jump behind him and shove him into your bedroom. You fold in after him and close the door behind the two of you as briskly and quietly as possible. You lock it without hesitating.

Then you turn to face him. Your face has gone marble white.

"What the f*ck are you thinking!?" you whisper-scream, jumping at him and shoving his chest hard. "Are you crazy?"

He steps back, his arms coming out sparingly. He is still half-grinning, but there is a new emotion on his face now, too. Concern.

"What's the big deal? What the hell got you so worked up?"

You can't help but glance at the door every few seconds, but your attention is also flat and appalled, staring at Bakugou and trying to work out the true motives of why he had come here.

You knew it was more than just the fight - it just didn't make any sense.

"Why did you come here for real? And don't you dare bullsh*t me, i'm really not in the mood for games."

"I'm not playing any games."

"Then why the f*ck are you here!?"

You are pleased to see Bakugou had caught onto your obvious need for discretion, as he was keeping his voice low too.

"I came to check on ya. Actually, I just wanted to try squeeze some answers out of you."

"Answers? f*ck, what do you want from me?"

"First off, I wanna know who the hell is downstairs that you're so scared of."

"I'm-"

"Y/N?" your mother's voice echoes down the hall and the look on your face turns to real panic.

You don't even realise your hand lands on Bakugou's forearm, it just rests there as you stare at the wall and train your attention on the echo.

"Y/N! Your boss pay ya yet? I need money for dinner!"

Your eyes come to meet Bakugou's, and you aren't even surprised to see that he looks like a realisation had struck him.

"I f*ckin' knew it."

"Knew what?" you mouth silently.

"I had a feeling that was how you got that injury."

Your eyes widen even more.

"So what? She beats you? Is that it?"

"No!" you mouth.

But the real panic sets in when Bakugou harshly pushes past you, shoving you out the way, and unlocking your bedroom door.

He swings it open and your body springs to action trying to chase after him.

Bakugou marches down the stairs like he owns the place, and while you try to grab his limbs to slow the decent, he only nudges you off with minimal effort.

"Oi! You!"

Shock sinks in, as the cat is out of the bag.

Bakugou's angry voice fills the halls of your family home. It shakes the walls and sends a chill over your body.

No!

You run into the open space and see your mother standing before you.

Bakugou is going to make everything worse.

"What's your problem?"

"Huh? Who are you?" your mother's words are slurred.

"Are you f*cking drunk? Jesus, it's worse than I thought." Bakugou rolls his eyes, getting riled up. "Look, you need to get your sh*t together, woman! You got a daughter here, and you're doing a f*ckin' pathetic job of raising her! Acting like this, getting drunk and roughing her up, you're only holding her back!"

Your mouth is hanging open as you stare at Bakugou yelling at your mom, standing in your living room, and pointing a stern finger.

You never thought you'd see this.

You can't think. You can't move. This is easily the most terrifying thing you have ever seen.

"Do you even know sh*t about your own daughter? Cus it seems like you don't pay attention to anyone but yourself! Did she tell you that she saved her entire class from a psycho attacking them last week? Do you know that she got struck by lightening? I doubt you even care that not only is she in the highest rated hero academy in all of japan, but she's the f*cking top student! Do you have any idea how big that is?"

Your mother is clearly lost for words.

And Bakugou has way too many.

"Can't you see how horrible of a mother you are?"

Shock has completely ruined her face. You can see tears welling in her eyes, and she looks right at you.

Despite the angry blonde stranger standing in her living room yelling at her, she can only look at you.

And the pain is glaring.

She looks like a painful realisation had struck her with a type of force that had completely ruined everything. She was crumbling to pieces in front of you.

She needs help.

Your heart feels like it has just exploded into a thousand pieces in your chest, and your ribs were all cracked in the process. Your jaw is hanging open.

And the tears start to brew in your eyes, too.

"Look, woman. I don't give a f*ck about being rude, since you don't deserve any f*cking respect from me! I know you're confident that Y/N won't tell anyone about you hitting her, but I am sure as hell not that nice. If you don't get your sh*t together, and see that you're messing up your kid's life as much as your own, i'll go straight to the cops! I'll tell everyone! Seriously, don't think I won't!"

"Y/N..."

Her voice cracks when she says your name. Her eyes are crying for help, or denial, or anything at all.

"You...you..."

"Mom..." you whisper shakily. "It's okay, I-"

"No! Don't you dare say this sh*t is okay!" Bakugou swings to face you, and the rage is prominent on his face. "Nothing about your situation here is okay!"

You move your eyes to him. "Bakugou...please."

He clenches his fists by his sides and they start to shake.

"You shouldn't be putting up with this. It makes you look just as pathetic as her."

Bakugou turns back to your mother and you can feel the heat of the fire burning in his gut. He is way past just plain anger.

"Do you even realise how badly you injured her? Your own kid? Don't you feel shame, knowing that?"

Your mother's hands are shaking, and her legs look they're about to buckle under her. She can only look at you. "...No, I...didn't."

"I'm serious, woman," Bakugou's voice gets sterner and he is suddenly overcome by a calmness that you're not used to from him. He is firm and sure of what he is saying. "Pull yourself together. Don't make me sic my mom
on you. You'd be no match for her, and in no world will she put up with the idea of your bullsh*t abuse against a young girl."

It felt like your world was crumbling in front of you.

You had a very unsettling feeling that this was going to change everything for the worse. It felt like this was a nightmare you'd never be able to wake up from.

You were not far off a breakdown. Your fear was paralysing.

"Let me warn you one last time." Bakugou grumbles, looking down. "If I don't kill you, she will."

Bakugou had a look on his face that showed that he was very serious about what he was saying. The atmosphere in the room around him is thick and tense enough to be cut by a knife.

"I'm leaving. Even though you're drunk, you better not forget what I said. Make some f*cking changes, or I will."

Bakugou turns around, glaring at you as he walks past.

You didn't know what he was trying to say with his eyes, but it felt like a warning. He doesn't say another word as he walks to the door, slips his shoes back on, and leaves the house.

He came, dropped an atomic bomb on your home, and then just like that - he disappeared.

You look back to your mother. Tears are streaming down her face and she has an obvious breakdown welling up in her throat. Hysteria had made her face lose all its colour.

You can't face this now. You don't have the strength.

"Y/N...you-"

She still looks scared, and that thought makes you uneasy. She was too unpredictable at the moment, and you had no clue how she was going to react to this situation.

You just wanted to save yourself.

"No, mom."

You turn away, wiping your tears, and run up the stairs towards your room.

Chapter 25: Jealousy

Chapter Text

Your experience with Bakugou and your mother had got you feeling like a hopeless puzzle, missing twenty pieces.

You hadn't spoken to your mother since the confrontation, and you didn't plan to anytime soon.

You feared that your heart could not take the conversation. Not yet.

You both obviously needed time to process everything that had been said.

Between your fingers, you toy with a small rabbit figurine. You are curled up in bed with your desk light barely illuminating the dark room, and you dance the figure through your fingers, lost in thought.

The house downstairs was deadly quiet.

You assumed that your mother had gone to bed, but you'd been listening for any sounds of movement for hours.

How the hell were you supposed to focus on school when this was your home situation?

Maybe it was selfish to only be thinking of your schoolwork. However, getting through the course and propelling towards your dream as a hero was going to require focus and above all, commitment. It had to take priority if you wanted to succeed, and you knew that.

Juggling your chaotic, abusive home life with something that took so much time, effort, and concentration, you knew it could lead to your attention falling short in one of the areas.

And you couldn't risk that.

You were in such a hard situation.

And despite everything else, you miss your father.

In an overwhelmed huff, you roll over onto your side. You place the bunny figure onto your bedside table and pull the sheet up over your shoulder.

You close your eyes and tears run down your cheeks.

You feel hopeless.

—————

"I still can't believe Sato won that!"

"But his cakes were so delicious~"

"Yeah, but, did you see Yaomomo's room? I mean, having that kinda furniture must give extra points, right? The bed probably costs more than the whole room took to renovate!"

"To be honest, I was the most impressed by Todoroki's room."

"RIIIIGHT! I forgot about his when I was voting! Crap, his was totally the best design."

"But, it was kinda boring, no?"

"He brought his own mats from home! He remodelled the entire thing! What do you mean 'boring'?!"

"I personally think Sato deserved the win. And if he'd keep making cakes, I'd keep voting for him for the rest of my life."

"I don't know," Midoriya hums, talking to the right side of the class. "I just thought it was nice to have everyone in one place. All hanging out and playing a lighthearted game together, I think we should keep doing things like that whenever we get the chance, to strengthen our bond as a class! Plus, wasn't it so nice to only walk ten minutes to school this morning?"

"Ugh, that was seriously the best part. I got to wake up late!"

"With all the training we've all been doing recently, I think that last night was the most fun i'd had in weeks."

"I agree. Wasn't it so nice?"

Ashido suddenly stops laughing as Kirishima taps her shoulder. She turns to him and he shakes his head, jerking his chin in your direction.

"Quit rubbing it in. Not cool."

Ashido suddenly feels stunned, looking over to your desk to find you resting your head on the desk in your arms, hiding your face in the small cave.

You had been like that for a while, not really talking to anyone.

But everybody seemed to be having a jolly old time, talking about how much fun the dorms were, so you didn't think they needed your input.

For the last ten minutes, you had to suffer through the torture of hearing all of the stories of everything that had happened as all the students moved in last night.

Honestly, the whole thing made you want to rip your own teeth out and shove them in your ears.

It was painful, and confronting, and you hated it.

While all your classmates were laughing and dancing around the dorms, making jokes and hosting fun competitions, you were alone in your bedroom, ignoring your mother, and crying.

It was a fairly big contrast, amongst classmates. You were green with jealousy.

As you hear the students behind you whispering, you assume that someone had gotten them all to shut up out of respect for you. It was a relief, but the fact of knowing that they were all looking at you and talking about you was spine-chilling.

The room gets awkwardly silent, and you can feel the tension buzzing in your ears.

You could tell everyone was uncomfortable now.

So for the rest of the waiting period, you just keep your head down.

——————

Given the type of day you'd had, you weren't in any sort of cheerful mood when you started the long walk back home.

Especially not when you had to say goodbye to all of your friends who were all going to hangout together at their dorms.

You were the only student who had to leave the campus.

And you were not happy.

You march out after bidding a fake smile to all your friends, trying to hide how disheartened you were, and you put your earphones in.

It almost feels like a primal instinct to play $uicide Boy$ on the loudest setting your earphones would go to. You were feeling so riled up and hard done by, that you wanted some aggressive music to sort of snowball the feelings.

sh*t. What the hell is he doing here?

Bakugou is standing where he was the last time you walked by here, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, and he's waiting for you. Again.

You attempt to ignore him, walking right by without giving him as much as a glance.

But he grabs your arm.

He stops you dead in your tracks, holding onto your bicep with one hand.

"Let go of me."

You don't turn around, you fight to keep your eyes facing forward. You don't want to look at him, and you tug your earphones out with your other hand.

"Oi, talk to me for a sec."

You spin around, glaring down at where his fingers were digging into your arm. Then, you look up through your hair at him, your eyes starting to turn light purple, without you noticing.

"What do you want now?"

Bakugou's raises an eyebrow, ever-so-slightly weakening his posture so he was a little closer to you. "So? Are you gonna move into the dorms now?"

"No. The f*ck?" you sass, your eyebrows knotting together.

"Huh?"

"You really think you did something? God. The ignorance."

"What, so you still don't wanna move? You know you're just gonna get left behind the rest of us. Snap out of it. Why can't you see that you're not doing her, or yourself any good by sticking around that place," he shakes his head, his eyes softening for the first time in forever. "You can't help her."

You thin your eyes, and clench your fists.

That is when Bakugou notices that your irises had turned purple.

And suddenly, completely against your will, a bolt of energy sparks somewhere inside you, and zaps around your body. You feel the charge rush down your legs, through your chest, and out to your arm. The electricity passes through you and straight into Bakugou where he was holding onto you.

He jolts back in pain, and the fabric at the end of his blazer sleeve is smoking. He pats the fire out and appears absolutely stunned when he meets your eyes again.

Your face is stone cold.

"f*ck. Off. Stay out of it."

You turn away and start to walk, feeling confident that he wasn't going to try and follow you. Especially since now he lived at the dorms, you didn't live nearby each other anymore, so he wouldn't be walking that way either way. You march off fast and steady, unyielding from the path ahead of you.

However, something concerning was tugging at your attention.

Your concern got you nervous, as you tried to assure yourself that it wasn't true. But, a part of you knew that it was.

You had felt it.

Your quirk had activated on its own.

Chapter 26: Go For It

Chapter Text

Homework was an inevitable fail.

Although you spent over an hour staring at the sheets with empty lines waiting to be filled, the truth was that your focus was elsewhere.

You chewed on your pen lid, leaning your elbow against your work desk, and thought of anything else that could possibly cross your mind.

You tried your best to at least make a dent in the homework that was due tomorrow, but you just could not lock in, no matter how hard you tried to rein in your focus.

There was way too much on your mind to prioritise English literature.

And when your phone rang from across the room, it gave you the perfect excuse to scrap the homework.

You rush over to the ringing device and answer it without hesitation.

"Hey, E."

You sit down on the edge of your bed.

"Hey Y/N! How are you doing?"

You smile into the phone. "I'm okay. I'm drowning in jealousy, but i'm okay."

You hear Kirishima sigh. "Man, everybody's out there on the oval playing a game right now, but i'm in my room. To be honest, it's got me too down that you're not here."

"Aw, E, you should go out there. Don't sell yourself short. It's probably lots of fun."

"No, but i'm being for real. This just doesn't feel right without you here. Our whole group is here aside from you, and you're the whole reason we're even at this school! It's killing me that you're being left out like this."

You don't know what to say, at first.

But then you decide to take a leap of faith, thinking of what Bakugou had said to you.

You can't help her.

"Eiji? I need your advice."

"Huh?" you hear him apparently getting closer to the phone. "Of course. Anything!"

"Do you think that, in a hypothetical situation, if you had somebody at home who really needed you around to help them out," you pause. "Would you still move away? Would you not feel too selfish, or guilty?"

A long pause makes you start to sweat.

"...This is about your mom, isn't it?"

His voice was nurturing and dripping with care for you. He was aware of the sensitivity of this topic, and so he was very soft, and patient, as he waited for you to answer.

You close your eyes and swallow the lump in your throat. "Mhm."

The phone is shaking in your hand beside your ear.

"Y/N, if you really want my honest opinion? I think you should come to the dorms. I know you must feel responsible for your mom, and that's super nice, but you can still keep tabs on her from U-A! You can go visit whenever you want, and you won't have the risk of falling behind the rest of the class. Even though I don't actually think you're at risk of that, I've been thinking...and I just- I think it's important that you spend more time with everyone. I don't want you to be outcast."

You bite your bottom lip and lean back to lie down on your bed.

"There's so much coming at us right now, at full force. We're going on that training camp soon, then we have our big exams! Everything is moving so fast. We're gonna struggle to keep up as it is! I don't want you to be the only one who's out of the loop. And like I said, there are ways to still look after her! You can go home on the weekends! But, from the little impression I got when I visited your house...I mean, I really don't want to pry, and I know this isn't my place to comment. But, I think...your mom could use some alone time."

You purse your lips. "You think?"

Kirishima pauses for a while. "If she is really drunk like that every day, I'm sorry to say this, Y/N, but I think she needs a reality check."

You stare at the ceiling, listening closely to every little detail. You try your best to look at the situation from a bird's eye view.

"I think so too."

"If you really want my honest opinion on the matter, I think you should go for it! If you want to be a hero, you have to be all in! Sure, you can still look out for your mom and help her out, but you can't hold yourself back for her! This is your life. If you spend the whole time living for someone else, you're going to be left with nothing. You can't table your own wellbeing forever, Y/N. It won't end well."

You remain silent.

"Plus, if your mom really tries to hold you back from what you're doing, which is for the good of all of Japan, then, I mean, that kinda speaks for itself."

You smile flatly. "The funny thing is, that my mom actually said I could go when Aizawa asked her. I was the one who decided that I should stay."

"What? So, she said you could move into the dorms with us?"

"...Yeah."

"So it really was just you looking out for her? Well, in that case, that's insanely generous of you. I don't think I know anyone else who would make a sacrifice like that for someone else, even family."

You suddenly, and instantaneously, second-guess if you had made the right decision.

"However, in saying that, I don't think you made the right choice."

You almost choke. "Really?"

"No way. You're not thinking of yourself at all!"

You stutter. "But, I-"

"Just ask yourself this: Do you really see yourself living in that house with her forever? How long do you really plan to keep it up?"

You forget how to breathe.

Hearing Kirishima put it like that, you were suddenly able to see from a whole new perspective. He completely flipped the situation, opening up a new path in your brain.

Is that really what the plan was? Did you even have an actual plan?

Or was this just the bridge you said you'd cross when you got to it?

Was your lack of planning going to lead you to stay in that house, in that situation, forever?

Honestly, thinking about it like that, it felt like a fate worse than death.

"Hm."

"Whatever you chose, Y/N, you know i'll support you, right?"

You smile, and it feels really real.

You feel lighter.

"Thank you, E. I can't explain how much this conversation means to me."

"Of course, you don't have to thank me. And you shouldn't wait for me to call you, you know? You can call me too anytime you want someone to talk to!"

You giggle. "Okay. Maybe I will."

The vibe of the conversation starts to change, and it all starts to feel like a breath of fresh air. Like you had been suffocating under sandbags for two days, and Kirishima was the first person strong enough to lift them off you.

"Go for it, Y/N."

His sternness catches you off guard.

"Hm?"

"Put yourself first, for once."

You look off to the side, a million thoughts bouncing off the walls in your brain, and making it impossible to make any sense.

You knew that you needed to have a good think about things.

"I'll talk to you later, okay E?"

"Okay. Take care of yourself. I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"You will. Bye for now!"

"Bye-bye!"

You hang up the phone and swing your arms out wide, against the bed. You finally close your eyes.

Kirishima's words had a big impact on you.

Although you were feeling cynical and unsure, balancing on the fence like a little black bird, you had certainly been influenced in ways you didn't expect.

You knew talking to Kirishima was a good idea, but you didn't anticipate him to be quite so convincing.

You let out a sigh.

You had a lot to think about.

Chapter 27: Leap Of Faith

Chapter Text

“Does anybody have any idea what Midnight was talking about in History?”

Ashido groans in defeat, leaning against the couch in the common area of the dorms. “Ugh, I had to pretend like I had a clue, but it made no sense!”

“I thought I was the only one, my papers were completely blank.”

Todoroki walks into the room with a bath towel draped over his shoulders. “You should contact Rei, if you can. She seemed to understand the content from the way she was responding to Midnight’s questions.”

Kirishima lowers his head at the mention of your name, and Kaminari notices.

“Bro, you okay?”

Kirishima sighs. “I’m fine. Just worried about Rei.”

“Oh, yeah. Me too.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t seem fair that she is the only one of us not allowed to move into the dorms. It’s like there is this invisible wall between her and the rest of us, now.”

“It totally does feel like that!”

“Honestly, I felt that between us before we even heard about the dorms. She gives off this feeling like she’s completely out of reach. Like she’s on a different wavelength to the rest of us.”

Some of the students hum in agreement.

“Maybe that’s because she’s so strong. And i’m not just talking about the force of her quirk.” Yaoyorozu observes aloud, holding her chin with her thumb and forefinger. “Right from the start, she seemed to shine a little brighter than the rest of us. She kept making herself known. Think of when she caught Bakugou’s fastball with that huge explosion, or when she stopped the villain attack. She faced the same challenges that all of us did, but, the difference was that she turned them into opportunities. If we all feel the same sense of division between her and us, I think that comes from her vigour. She doesn’t hesitate. She appears to completely lack fear.”

Bakugou is scowling in the corner.

Tokoyami shakes his head, leaning against the kitchen bench with his arms crossed over his chest. “No human is born without fear. It’s one of the only things that is inherent to human nature. But, I think that Rei feels so far ahead of us because she doesn’t allow her fear to paralyse her.”

“She does seem to always be moving, right? Always one step ahead. Like she’s a steam train headed North, and nothing is gonna stop her.”

Jirou nods. “She’s excelling forward.”

“And it’s only the second week!” Kaminari grumbles. “It’s kinda intimidating, to be honest.”

“Just be happy she’s on your team, and not the alternative, Kaminari. Imagine having her as an enemy.”

“Do you guys think she’s nice?”

“Totally!” Kirishima hurts in. “She’s one of the nicest girls I know.”

“Yeah! She’s one of my best friends. She’s super nice. Why do you ask, Tsu-chan?”

“I’m not sure, I’ve just been struggling to hold a conversation with her, ribbit.”

“I dunno, she kinda feels rude to me.”

“You guys just don’t know her well enough, yet! Midoriya and I have known her for years, and he can back me up when I say that with enough time, she’ll start to open up. But she’s got her own crap going on, too. Don’t think for a second that because she’s perfected her flashy quirk that her life is easy.”

“You’re right, Kirishima.”

“She deserves to be here with us.”

“I know, it’s such a bummer. I think she seems like she’s super fun to be around in a casual setting, and I was excited to get the chance to be friends.”

“You can still be friends with her, Mina.”

A sudden knock at the door makes all of 1-A fall silent.

The students look around at each other with metaphorical question marks above their heads. They all look like lost puppies.

“Who could that be?”

“Aizawa?”

“No, he’s in his quarters.”

“Maybe a visitor. Who’s going to check?”

“I’ll go.” Ashido jumps up from the couch, grabbing Ochaco’s hand. “Come with me.”

“Okay.” She follows her.

Kirishima also gets up. “I’ll come too. It could be dangerous.”

“Don’t get too worked up guys, it’s probably just someone from 1-B.”

The entire class flocks together following each other, and walking over to the main entrance of the dormitories, and the girls at the front are the ones to open the door.

The huge wooden slab swings open and the girls gasp.

They see you standing at the foot of the stairs looking up at them through the dark of the night, with two huge suitcases in each hand.

“Rei? What are you-“ Ashido pauses and stutters. “NO WAY!”

You half-smile and shrug your shoulders, struggling to hold the bags that were extremely heavy in your hands.

You feel sad and heavy, but you muster up a smile for them anyway.

“Can I come in?”

Kirishima runs to the front of the crowd.

“Y/N? IS THIS FOR REAL?”

You chuckle and drop your head, looking down at the floor, before you look back up. “Yup.”

“HOLY CRAP!”

Kirishima runs down the stairs towards you, swinging his arms around your waist and pulling you into a hug. You grunt at the force and drop your bags on the floor, as he picks you up and starts to swing you in circles.

Almost everyone watching starts to laugh, and some even cheer. Kirishima’s excitement was igniting in all of them.

“Rei-san, you’re really moving in?” Midoriya asks, hope lighting up his face. “Your mom changed her mind?”

You are laughing and being spun around, trying to push Kirishima’s shoulders to let you down, out of humiliation. But you’d be lying if you said his happiness wasn’t contagious, in this moment.

When he finally stops spinning because of how dizzy he gets, he puts you down. You stumble on your feet and look back up at the others.

Your open palms come out in surrender, and you make eye contact with Bakugou who had finally come to check out what all the cheering was about.

You shrug. “Got room for one more?”

Bakugou grins and a tiny laugh comes out of his nose.

“Of course!”

“We were just talking about you!”

“We’re really all going to be living together! The whole class! Holy sh*t!”

You laugh, looking down.

You knew that this move was a leap of faith, and all you could really do was hope that you’d be able to catch yourself.

Kirishima picks up both of your bags for you and looks your way, nodding his head towards the door.

“Come on, let’s get your room set up.”

You smile warmly, following him up the stairs and into the building.

———————

“Wow, what a relief.”

You lay back onto your bed exhausted. Kirishima and Uraraka plop down beside you, bouncing on the soft mattress.

“It’s finally done.”

With their help, you had finally completed the important finishing touches of your new room.

The time was 1:47AM, and you had finally finished. You couldn’t tell the others how grateful you were for their help, but you figured you would have lots of time to figure out a way to return the favour.

“I know I should be tired,” Kirishima puffs, “But man, I am so fired up right now!”

You laugh, shaking the bed a little with your joy.

You are all staring at the ceiling with your arms sprawled out between you.

All of your clothes were unpacked, your posters were on the walls, your favourite bedsheets clean and on the annoyingly comfortable mattress.

You had plants in one corner of the room, some dumbbells, a small study desk, and an entertainment corner. Your chest of drawers was set up with all of your nick-nacks, and you had lit a vanilla candle to make the room smell nice.

“I can’t lie, this does feel right.”

After only a few hours, it was already starting to feel like home. The warm, excited welcome of all of your classmates had made you feel beautifully embraced. And although you were terrified and still battling guilt in your head, having your best friends beside you was exactly what you needed.

The voices had gotten quieter.

“Sorry, Kirishima, Y/N, but I think i’m gonna pass out soon.”

You sit up and look at Ocacho whose eyes are closing more with every blink.

You laugh. “Go to bed, Ochaco. You’ve done more than enough. Seriously, thank you, you made this whole thing so much easier for me.”

“Don’t thank me,” she sits up but is obviously a little delirious. “I’ll go to bed now. But, i’ll see you tomorrow morning? You wanna have breakfast together?”

“I’d love that,” you smile at her and stand to your feet. “Want me to walk you to your dorm?”

“No, no, i’ll be okay.” she mumbles quietly.

“I’ll come too, Uraraka. I’m actually pretty beat now that i’ve been sitting still for a moment.” Kirishima stands up and stretches his arms over his head. “Hey, isn’t it awesome that we’re all on the same floor?”

“Yeah, that’s so lucky.” you nod, standing between them.

“Sorta feels like fate, doesn’t it?”

You smile, “Definitely fate.”

Then you look at Ochaco and see her rocking unsteadily while standing up, and her eyes are completely closed.

“Alright, get this one to bed safe, yeah?” you grab Ochaco’s shoulders and lead her towards the door.

“Yeah, I got her.” Kirishima smiles warmly, following Ochaco out into the hall. “Hey, Y/N, if you need anything during the night, like wanna know where the bathrooms are or anything, just text me.”

You nod, your eyes feeling heavy. “Okay, thanks E. See you tomorrow?”

He smiles and waves at you, before he peaks his head around the corner one last time.

“I’m really happy you did this, Y/N.”

You can’t stop smiling, despite being exhausted.

“Me too.” you wave, holding the door. “Goodnight.”

“Sweet dreams. Enjoy your first night!”

He leaves and guides Ochaco with him. You watch them walk slowly down the dark hall, and then you close your door.

You turn around and lean your back up against it. You close your eyes and tilt your head towards the roof, and sigh.

It had taken you almost five hours to set up your room.

But luckily, some of the girls from your class had offered to help you set it up so that you could have a comfortable sleep.

You got the chance to have some good conversations with them as you were folding your clothes.

You could already feel something changing.

And despite how scared you were, you knew it was a good thing.

And it was happening fast, but even the girls could already feel the first few bricks of that wall between you, were coming down.

Chapter 28: Surpass Me

Chapter Text

It's two days later, and you had adjusted to the dorm life perfectly.

Like a fish adjusts to water. Like this was where you were meant to be, all this time.

Not only did you feel a very foreign sense of freedom, but you also had more energy and excitement for life than you have ever had before.

You were ravenous for life. Hungry.

You had been getting up early, and you always had the time to make a healthy breakfast for you and your friends and whoever else wanted to partake.

Every night you went to sleep at a reasonable hour, and it was like your body recognised the newfound sanctuary you were in, and it was reacting by giving you the best sleep of your life, every night.

You were refreshed, and eager.

Classes over the last two days had felt normal, and highly informative. You had been learning lots, and steadily growing your relationships with your peers.

After school today, you went back with all of your friends to the dorms and hung out in the common area for a few hours.

You had to leave a little earlier than the others, because it was starting to get late and you had a full workout planned out.

So you went off to your room, got changed into a skin-tight black singlet and some sweatpants, your running shoes, and you tied your hair back.

While the other students headed off to bed, you headed out to the school gym.

You had a pull day. For the next hour and a half, you trained back, biceps and a little legs. You worked up a huge sweat, and finished off the workout with a few laps around the oval.

By the time it was finally over, it was past 11PM, and you were exhausted.

As you walk off the dark open oval towards the dormitories, you pull your singlet up to wipe the sweat off your face. Your stomach is kissed by a cool breeze, and it feels nice.

You jog up the stairs and into the dorms, making sure to stay quiet because you knew everyone was asleep upstairs.

Starving, you head into the kitchen to make a protein shake, with a shaker rather than the blender.

You leave all of the lights off except for one in the centre of the kitchen, giving only you enough light to move around freely.

Your bare arms are still a little sweaty and red, and you start preparing all of the ingredients to your drink. You fill a shaker with milk, protein powder, some powdered vitamins, and other health-specific ingredients. You screw the lid on and start shaking with your right hand, and snacking on a banana in the meantime with your left.

You stare blankly off into the night while you shake your drink leisurely.

"Still up?"

Your body reacts to the shock of the unexpected voice as you jump and spin towards the splitting sound.

"Huh? Bakugou?"

He is in an outfit that almost perfectly matches yours. He has a black singlet, black pants, and some slippers to keep his feet warm.

His cut, muscular arms lead down to hands that are safe in his pockets.

His hair looks soft, and his eyes catch the moonlight as he shuffles into the room, glaring at you.

"What are you still doing up?" you ask.

"Me? What about you, huh?"

"I, I was up train-"

"Training, yeah I know. I saw you running laps out my window."

You stare at him, forgetting about the drink you were supposed to be shaking that was now still in your hand.

"You were watching me?"

"No." he looks offended that you even asked. "Y'know, if you keep this up, you're gonna burn yourself out."

"What are you talking about?"

"Staying up late like this to workout, and you always get up early. Late at night is the worst time to do your workouts, you're gonna ruin all your progress if you keep this up."

You feel sort of speechless.

The way he keeps his voice low and reserved out of care for any echoing, makes for a sort of eerie vibe to your conversation.

"And judging your body now compared to a few months ago at our old school, you have made good progress. So why the hell are you pushing yourself so hard? Do you know anything about proper training? You understand that you need to rest, too?"

Your expression drops a little, and you start to shake your drink again.

"Bakugou, you realise that you just said that I've made good progress, and then asked if I know anything about real training. Do you see the contradiction there?"

"Whatever. It's just an observation. I’m just saying, you’re gonna overdo it.”

“Well, thanks for the concern, but don’t worry.” your tone is borderline pitiful, now. “I’m only training late tonight because I can’t tomorrow morning.”

“Mhm.” he rolls casually up onto his toes, and takes a look around the room.

You wait for his attention to come back to you. And it does, and his gaze intensifies.

“So, you spoke to your mom? How’d she take the news about you moving?”

You drop your head and bite your bottom lip.

“I don’t want to talk about that right now.”

He stares at you and stays silent for a while. You can feel that he is studying you, and trying to figure out what to say at the same time.

You decide to beat him to it.

“Anyway, why are you up?”

“Um.” he looks back out to the huge window, “Can you come outside for a minute? I want to talk to you.”

You co*ck your head to the side. “We’re talking right now.”

“Not like this. Not when we have to whisper.”

You’re on edge. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Can you just shut up and come outside?” his body language shifts slightly, and he sighs. “Please.”

Curse your father and his pathetic empathy.

If it weren’t for the traits that you inherited from him, you would definitely tell Bakugou to go f*ck himself, and you’d head up to bed which you were so desperately missing.

But instead of that, you put your shake down on the bench, and you walk past him.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

The two of you walk through the halls, and out the front door without speaking. You walk out onto the open field out the front, and Bakugou walks right past you.

You stand still as he walks a few feet out, and then he stops. He continues to stare out into the night, facing away from you.

“So? What is it?”

You stare at his motionless form for a few seconds, confused and shaken by his odd behaviour.

This wasn’t like him.

He drops his head forward. And that is when you notice his arms trembling.

“Baku-“

“How-“

You stop talking. You can see him physically struggling with something, and it is making you nervous.

“…How do you do it?”

His voice is fragile and cracking.

“Do what?”

His jaw is tensed, as if locked shut. “You’re different. I thought- I thought I could…I don’t understand. Even the others are starting to notice. You-“

Your legs stiffen. “Bakugou, look at me.”

“Why…” his voice is shaky and he seems to be choking back tears. "Why the hell did I end up chasing after someone who i'd never even noticed before? You were never even on my radar, until…Why? Why was I so-”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

You start to walk towards him, reaching out a hand for his shoulder.

He suddenly turns around and slaps your hand away, “I was at the top! I was sure I was at the top. And then you came out of f*cking nowhere and… And you made it impossible for me to do anything amazing because you had already f*cking done it!"

His voice gets a little louder and you can see the tears in his eyes now.

You are both standing under the moonlight.

"I just don’t get it, how you became so…strong. It was only a couple months.”

You look spooked. “What-“

He suddenly deadpans. “So yeah, Y/N, I was an asshole to you. I was f*cking pissed! I was constantly being shown up by someone who was never even…on the same playing field. You were always so far behind me. And I just couldn’t help being bitter at your success, because its existence was the very absence of mine."

"...Bakugou..."

"Yeah, you can say it was immature, or whatever. But you can't expect me to be perfect all the time. When I got my power I knew I had an opportunity to go further than anybody else. I had a real chance. I had all this excitement welling up inside of me because I knew I could become number one, I knew I could do so well. But then, you. You came out of thin air. I don't know what it is about you. You're a prodigy. You completely stopped me in my tracks. I had no chance. And that was so f*cking annoying.”

You think you can sort of understand where he was coming from.

His whole life, Bakugou had his purpose. He only wanted to be number one.

It was a solid goal that was never just a dream, or a phase. And then he got his power and it all finally felt attainable. It gave him exactly what he had always needed to go the extra mile. His dream felt possible.

And it was in the very same week that you received your power, that you developed a goal that you had never thought of before.

You had never thought of striving for number one. You never had your purpose. You were lost and had no drive, which was the polar opposite place to where Bakugou had always been at.

His whole life, Bakugou was in preparation for this. He was in limbo, in training. It had always been his focus. His dream.

And you thought it up a couple months ago on a whim, and you almost instantly surpassed him.

It took you a fraction of the time that it took him, even though your quirks manifested around the same time.

You had shown him up, even at his own specialty.

Any normal person would be absolutely ruined by that. Any normal person would grow bitter and ugly with resentment.

Finally, you can see why he’s been acting the way he has. It all starts to make sense, and fall into place.

He is just hurting.

“Listen, I think you and me are fairly evenly matched in terms of power alone.”

He has his face covered by both of his hands, and you can see his jaw is clenched tight.

“I think you're not giving yourself enough credit for how far you’ve come. Look at where you were only a couple months ago. Yeah you were strong, but not nearly as much so as right now. Don’t demolish your accomplishments by comparing them to others! That’s the stupidest way to stunt your own growth.” you pause and your body wants to reach out to him, despite the fear of being smacked away again.

Your hand hovers in the air between you.

“You are the second strongest hero in training, in the best school in Japan. You are aware that means that if you surpass me, you'll graduate as the number one pro-hero. You'll be the number one in all of Japan, and all you have to do is beat me. And you have two years to do it. Doesn't that sound possible?"

He finally finds the strength to look up at you, and you feel your heart soften at this side of him.

You can see that he is just a boy in pain.

“What the hell? You’re telling me to, beat you?”

You nod simply.

“I don’t understand you. Not at all.”

Not knowing what else to you, you decide to run with your instincts.

So you reach out to him.

You bring your hand up to the back of his neck, and gently pull him towards you.

To your upmost shock, he leans down, and allows it to happen.

You guide his head down to rest on your shoulder, near the sensitive crook of your neck, and you bring your other hand up to wrap around his back.

His cologne floods your senses. It’s the best smell you think you’ve ever had the pleasure of smelling.

And you feel like you can’t breathe as his hands float above your hips for a few seconds.

Just before he finally gives in.

He gives up.

His hands fall and land on your waist, and he lets some of his weight come to rest on you.

A small sob forces itself up through his throat, though you can hear him trying to choke it back.

You stare up at the moon as he breaks down in your arms. You put one foot behind you to steady yourself enough to support his weight against you.

Gently, you stroke your thumb against the thin fabric of his singlet on his back, trying to soothe him.

You feel his hands shaking on your hips, and one of his tears drips down your collarbone.

“Who the hell are you?” he whispers, clearly in shock and feeling authentically shameful.

“Y/N.” you smile, feeling oddly accomplished. “And you are?”

He scoffs quietly, and it sounds suspiciously like an amused laugh.

He sighs into your neck, not yet standing up.

“Katsuki. I’m Katsuki.”

Chapter 29: Spell Casting

Chapter Text

"I'm sure you've all heard about the upcoming training camp that the school is planning."

"Yeah!"

"What should we expect, Sir?"

"Can you tell us some of the details?"

"Well, for one: you should all be excited, but well prepared for a challenge. This will be the first ever authorised quirk-friendly training camp held off of school grounds. The basic premise of the training is to prepare you for the upcoming licensing exams. I will be accompanied by Present Mic, and we will be your supervisors for the trip. We leave on Friday. The camp will be one week long, and we have already designed the strict training regime that you will be following, which was created to push you all way beyond your limits."

Aizawa glances around the class at he talks. "The goal is to really push you. You'll probably feel like you're dying, but it will not be without purpose. We have learned recently, as it has been proven, that these quirks that are manifesting around the world, have many similarities to regular bodily functions. They can be overused, and underused. Just like any other muscles in your body, they can be improved by being broken down. When you push your bicep past its breaking point by lifting too much weight, the muscle tears, and new, stronger muscles grow over the top. Quirks work in the same way. So, we want to improve the actual strength of your quirks, as well as your bodily stamina, and your overall strength. Another plus, is that you'll all exponentially improve your basic survival skills and instincts, which you can really never have too much of."

You pay close attention, resting your chin in your palm against the table as Aizawa explains what you have to expect from the upcoming trip.

"This camp will be held on a private piece of land, recently purchased by the school. With the leftover funds provided to us from our government, we bought a small island, just off the coast of Kyoto. It has been designed to be utilised by our school as a special remote training facility, where the location will be kept a secret from everyone aside from the school authorities. The fact that it is privately owned will give you all the freedom to use your quirks, for the sole purpose of improving them."

You nod absentmindedly in understanding.

"We will send out a list of everything you'll need to bring with you. Although Mic and I will be there to support and guide you through the training, you will all be responsible for your own food preparation and sleeping arrangements. You will be supplied with the necessary ingredients, cooking utensils, and tents, but that will be all. The rest of the responsibilities will fall on you. It will not be easy, but it is designed to push you. We want to see your tenacity and will to improve. You'll learn a lot."

A hand flies up. It's Kaminari. "Sir! What if we don't know anything about camping?"

"If any of you are nervous about the logistics of the camp, I'd recommend that you spend some time over the next few days studying some basic survival skills online. You're going to need them." Aizawa grins and it makes you feel immediately uneasy. "Now, on the topic of responsibility..."

Sensing some kind of maliciousness from him, you instinctively look away from the teacher.

"Today, you are going to select your class representatives."

——————

"Man, I am so pumped for this camp. Aren't you guys?"

Sero disagrees. "Hell no! I got a feeling it's going to feel more like a punishment, rather than any other fun school trip."

"Yeah, man. Agreed. I don't think there's gonna be anything fun about it. We gotta make our own food, setup our own tents, I mean, it's gonna feel like surviving in the wild! No fun at all.”

"It'll be good for us." you nod at Kaminari. "Good practice. Just think of the upcoming exams, and that this is meant to prepare us for them."

Kaminari rolls his eyes, looking down to his plate to poke around his bowl of Japanese curry. "I hope they got some better food than this crap, at least."

"Crap? Nah, I wish they served us more." you show Kaminari and Sero your empty bowl. "I'm starving after training today, and I already finished mine."

"Have mine."

You almost flinch as Bakugou slides his own bowl of curry across the table to right in front of you. He doesn't even look up as he does it.

"Huh?" you look at him. "You're not eating?"

"Don't worry about me, dammit. I got extra Katsu." he has both elbows up on the table, protecting his food like a prison inmate.

You feel hesitant, as you just stare at him for a while. This feels like some kind of sick joke.

"Just eat the damn curry."

Maybe he just doesn't like curry.

"Alright, thanks," you slowly drag the bowl over, and use your spoon to take a big mouthful of it.

When you look up, Kaminari, Kirishima and Sero are all staring at you like you had just taken a sh*t on the table in front of them.

"What?" you ask with full cheeks.

"What kind of spell did you put on him to make him do that?"

"Denki, you saw that too? sh*t, I thought I dreamed it."

"Shut up, stupid bastards. Eat your food and mind your business."

You use the food in your mouth to hide your smirk, and you look down to continue eating.

——————

“Alright, i’m bored now.”

“Ugh!” Kirishima throws his PlayStation controller down onto the desk in defeat. “Yeah, probably because you’ve won every round for the last two hours! So annoying.”

Bakugou puts his controller down too and walks over to Kirishima’s bed, jumping onto it on his back with a proud grin on his face.

“Maybe you should try not sucking.” he says, putting his hands behind his head on Kirishima’s pillow. “That could help.”

Kirishima stares down at him looking annoyed, then he takes a seat at his desk, and switches off the small TV that he had brought with him into the dorms. Him and Bakugou had been playing video games together in here at night for the last few days because he was one of the only students who brought a TV. And certainly one of the only students that Bakugou could tolerate.

They had gotten closer, and were steadily forming a pretty solid friendship, though Bakugou would probably die before admitting that.

They often talked about a bunch of different topics, and while Kirishima often felt like he was treading on eggshells with what he brought up, there was one topic he was growing pretty curious about.

“So, Bakugou,” he hums, facing away from his friend to hide his smile. He taps his finger on the desk in front of him.

“What?” Bakugou snaps, looking like he was about to pull out his phone.

He wiggles around to get a little more comfortable, his bare feet on the bed.

“I been wondering,” Kirishima pauses for dramatic effect, and to build up the tension between them before he has a panic attack. “When you’re gonna…make a move on her.”

“Eh?” Bakugou’s head flies up to look at his friend. “On who?”

Kirishima is desperate to hide his smile, but his face is turning red and exposing him.

“On Rei-chan.”

“What the hell are you talking about, sh*tty-hair? Spit it out.”

Kirishima finally swivels around on his chair to face Bakugou.

“It’s kinda obvious that you have a thing for her. At the very least you like her, don’t you?”

Bakugou grunts in obvious fake amusem*nt, before he puts his head back down against the pillow.

“Don’t be stupid. What the hell is there to like about her, anyway?”

Bakugou blinks as he has a flashback of your moment on the field the other night.

His eyebrows cinch together, fighting off the memory.

“Well, she’s super charismatic and cool. She’s really strong, competitive, kinda inspiring, and so nice. Like so nice.” Kirishima keeps his eyes glued to Bakugou as he talks, looking for some kind of telling reaction. “And she’s easily the prettiest girl in our class. Don’t you think?”

Bakugou scoffs. “Yeah, right.”

Bakugou didn’t pay much attention to the other girls, but for a brief moment, he tries to recall their faces, and comes to the conclusion that he did agree with Kirishima on one thing.

You were easily the prettiest girl in the class.

“She’s popular, available, and pretty sought-after with the others. Some of the guys won’t shut up about her,” Kirishima looks around the room now. “And if you don’t make a move soon, I think you might lose your chance. Somebody else might beat you to it.”

“So you like her, then?”

Bakugou’s sudden composure was making Kirishima uneasy.

“What? No! No, I really like Y/N, but not like that. Our friendship is too important to think about it like that. But-“

“Right. So, if you don’t even like her then you obviously have no idea what you’re talking about.” Bakugou sits up from the bed and vaults off of it, dusting his shirt off in the middle of the room. “Don’t say disgusting sh*t like that to me.”

He starts to walk towards the door.

“I’m off to bed.” he grumbles, “Don’t go and say sh*t to her about that, either. Cause I didn’t say sh*t. So don’t put words in my mouth, or i’ll f*cking kill you. Got it?”

Bakugou turns around and Kirishima is smiling at him.

“Sure. No worries bro. My mouth is sealed.”

He waves innocently as his friend opens the door. Kirishima could read Bakugou a little better than the hothead was prepared to admit.

“Tch. Catch you tomorrow.”

He leaves the room and Kirishima fights back a loud laugh.

Chapter 30: Sensitivity

Chapter Text

You were walking out of the school with Nejire, a girl from one of the upper classes.

The two of you actually work together at the cafe near your house, and seeing her in the halls randomly one day at U-A felt like a weird dream.

You got along like fire and ice at work, so it was nice having another friend to wave at in the halls.

“Yeah, and I was so sweaty, so the whole thing was so embarrassing!”

“At least you took him down fast,” Nejire laughs, holding some books in front of her chest as she walks beside you. “Combat training in front of your peers is always so humiliating, you’re definitely not the only one who felt shy.”

You laugh and shake your head.

“Hey, it’s your class that moved into the new dorms that they built on campus, right?”

“Yeah. Class 1-A, and 1-B.” you nod. “I was actually wondering why you were walking this way, is your class in one of the other buildings?”

“No, no. The senior parking is just this direction.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Mhm!” she hums. “So, how are you juggling work with all this crazy schoolwork they give us here? And when do you work next? You must be pretty busy.”

“Eh, it’s okay.” you shrug casually, kicking some rocks along the dirt path. “But I don’t work until next Friday, because my class is going away for that camp this weekend. Honestly, i’m a bit stressed about how i’m gonna pay rent.”

“Oh, that doesn’t sound good. I mean, the rent part. If you fall short on the day, you can text me and I can loan you the money! I’ve got savings, so it’s really no worries.” she smiles warmly. “So they do charge rent in those dorms? I was wondering if they did or not.”

“Oh, no. Not the dorms.” you shake your head. “I just help my family with rent at home.”

“Oh wow, that sounds tough. That must be why you used to work so much, then?”

You nod and half smile. “Yeah.”

You look up ahead in front of you and a very familiar face catches your attention. Once again, ominously leaning up against the wall like some sort of nonchalant main character.

He doesn’t look up at you, but his aura seems to be calling you over.

“Hey, Nejire? I’ll have to catch up with you later. Is that okay?”

She looks at you, “Of course! I’ll see you when you’re back from that camp. You leave tomorrow, right?”

You nod. “Yeah. This Friday to next Friday.”

“Awesome! Well, have fun! And stay safe.”

You smile and wave goodbye to her as she skips off ahead, and you reroute your path towards Bakugou. You’re outside, and he is leaning against the outside of the main building. His hands are in his pockets, and his head is down.

His hair is completely covering his face.

You wonder if he can even see you approaching him.

“Hey-“ suddenly your shoe hits a protruding tree root in the ground and you trip forward, bringing your arms out to catch yourself.

But as fast as lightening, Bakugou jolts forward and catches you with both hands, saving you from hitting the ground.

You realise what happens a tick too late and laugh nervously as he lifts you to stand back up on your feet.

“sh*t, sorry,” you dust off your uniform on the front, looking down at it. “I’m such a goof.”

When you look back up at him, you expect him to poke fun at you. To try and further your humiliation. To tease you for being so stupid, or to just blatantly laugh at your embarrassed, fretful state that he didn’t catch you in very often.

You expect anything except tears.

But his head is still low and his body is facing slightly away from you. You can’t see his eyes but you can see his teeth are clenched, and a single stray tear rolls down his nose, and drops down to the soil at your feet.

“Katsuki, are you okay?”

What is wrong with him?

“There’s no way,” he breathes slowly, trying to compose himself. “There’s no way that what I was feeling all this time…is that.”

“Katsuki.”

“It doesn’t make sense.”

You aren’t sure exactly what is bothering him, but you are sure that having a breakdown in public like this, where your classmates could walk by any second, probably was the last thing he wanted.

A soft smile takes your lips, and you tilt your head.

“You’re more sensitive than you let on, aren’t you?” You reach up and put your hand on his head, gently ruffling it. “But you could work on expressing yourself more clearly, I think.”

He is focusing on controlling his breathing, and he looks up. You can see that he is struggling to make eye-contact with you.

It is sort of endearing.

Whatever was going on, he was embarrassed. And it was cute on him.

“Come on,” you step back and gesture for him to follow you with your hand. “You hungry? I’ll make you some food back at the dorms.”

Bakugou sniffs and wipes his nose, sighing in defeat.

He looks left and right, before he finally decides to follow you. “Okay. f*ck.”

You smile and shake your head as the two of you walk together back to the dormitories.

——————

The next day is filled with a buzzing sense of excitement throughout all of your peers.

You are all gathered out the front of the dorms, with your camping bags, as you wait your turn to load yours into the bus.

“Did you bring matches, Y/N? It totally skipped my mind. I asked the others and nobody seems to have brought them, but they were definitely on the list!”

You look across at Midoriya and laugh in his face. “I think we’ll be okay.”

You bring your hand up between you and the middle of your palm starts to buzz loudly before a purple ball of bright energy manifests in the centre of it. Fire is burning on the outside of the plasma ball, and it lights up Midoriya’s face.

His eyes double in size. “Oh my god! I totally forgot!” he turns around and puts his hand on your shoulder. “Uraraka-san! We have our own lighter right here!” he points at you excitedly.

You laugh. “And him, too.” you jerk your chin towards one of the students at the back. “Todoroki can help make fire, can’t he?”

Midoriya gasps loudly like he’s just been stabbed on the back. “AHH! How did I forget that!? Gosh, Todoroki-kun, i’m sorry I forgot about you!”

Todoroki’s head turns towards you. “What? Are you talking to me?”

You laugh again and look back at Sero who was standing on your left, and had just thrown his bag into the bottom of the bus.

“So what about you?” you ask him. “You getting excited yet?”

“Well actually, now that we’re all here together, I am sort of starting to look forward to it.”

You smirk. “I thought you’d come around.”

“Y/N!” Ochaco yells out and you turn as she runs over to you, “Iida just gave us the seating plan, and you and I are sitting together!”

Your eyebrows jump up. “Wow! Lucky.”

“Let’s go find out seats. Is your bag in yet?”

You shake your head. “Hold on.” you step around Shouji and Tokoyami, throwing your large backpack into a slot in the storage compartment under the bus. You excuse yourself past the students and walk back to join Ochaco at the entrance.

“Let’s go,” you hum, and fold inside first.

Some of the other students were already in their seats, while everyone else was still outside. You nod at Ashido and Tsuyu as you walk past them, patting Ashido’s head in a joking way.

They both smile at you and you walk past, holding onto the seats as you walk down the aisle.

“That one,” Ochaco says and you look to where she’s pointing.

You nod and slip into the window seat, immediately pulling out your phone while she took her seat beside you.

Fifteen long minutes later, and all of the students are finally in their seats and prepared for the long journey ahead.

“Everybody! Make sure to remain in your seats! We will be stopping at a service station once per every hour, so please time your bathroom breaks accordingly!”

“You want us to time our bathroom breaks?” you ask Iida, scrunching up your face.

He ignores you, or maybe he just didn’t hear you at all.

You sigh.

“Now, is everybody properly prepared? I hope you have all quadruple-checked your lists! Once we leave this lot, anything left behind will remain that way!”

Iida seemed to suit the class representative role. Perhaps a little too much.

“BAKUGOU, PLEASE GET BACK TO YOUR SEAT!”

Bakugou’s face comes out of nowhere and pops up in front of you, his hand holding the seat.

“Floaty, switch with me.”

“What? But-“

“There’s no way i’m sitting next to Deku for this whole trip. I know you gotta crush on him, so hurry up and switch!”

She turns to face you and is bright red, clearly humiliated that the students surrounding you might have heard what Bakugou had said.

But her main focus was the exciting idea of getting to sit next to Midoriya for the long bus ride.

She looks as if she’s asking for permission, and completely terrified, all at once.

You offer a sweet smile. “Go.”

Her face is in utter shock. “Really? Are you sure?”

You nod in assurance. “Really. Go. And text me the details!” you whisper the last part.

Ochaco timidly stands up from her seat and moves out into the aisle, but she looks back at you and still seems unsure.

You shoo your hands still smiling. “Go.”

She clutches her things close and smiles down at you, looking grateful. Then she shuffles past Bakugou and heads up to the front of the bus.

“BAKUGOU! URARAKA-SAN! I TOLD YOU TO REFRAIN FROM SWITCHING SEATS! I MADE THE SEATING PLAN SO THAT-“

“SHUT THE f*ck UP, FOUR-EYES!”

Bakugou swings into the seat beside you, resting both hands on the chair in front of you.

He looks down at you and you purse your lips at him, looking kind of bored by his yelling.

“Sup.”

“Hey Katsuki. How do we always end up being partners like this?”

“I don’t f*cking know.” he shrugs, leaning back and resting his hands on his thighs.

“Alright, everybody! We’re leaving now! Be ready! And remember, time your bathroom breaks accordingly!”

You look out the window as the bus roars to life and starts to roll out of the carpark.

“So, did ya bring anything fun to do? Or are we just gonna sit in silence for the next five hours.”

You turn to Bakugou and silently, you hold up the left earphone that is plugged into your phone in your lap, offering it to him.

“Tch.” he takes it from you with a smirk and slips it into his ear. “It better be good.”

Chapter 31: Sundown Camp

Chapter Text

You like this already.

You and the rest of the students are standing around on the beach. You had finished up the five hour bus ride, and polished it off with a short ferry trip out to the island. You had brought all of your things, and dropped them in the sand, to listen closely as Aizawa gives you the last of the necessary information, before he was to turn in for the night.

You look up at the sky, and you come to the conclusion that you have about an hour before the sun sets. And then as you glance around the area, you see that all of the tents are still rolled up in their cases, and the food that they supplied was all going to take a while to cook.

You're going to have to be fast if you want to beat the night.

"Now, Mic and I will be staying just over there, where you can see that light in the trees. That's the only cabin on the island, and it's where only we will be residing. The rest of you will setup camp on the beach, or in the tree line. Whatever you prefer. You will each also have a portable panic button in your tents. In the case of an emergency - you press that, and we will rush to the beach. We will be contactable, however, not unless absolutely necessary. Understood? This is all going to be up to you."

You hold your hands behind your back, looking around at the students. Some of them appear to be nervous.

"As you can see, we have supplied you with all of the ingredients and utensils that you will need to make yourselves dinner. There are cooking pots and things of that nature under the table. There is the toilet lodge just around that bend over there. I suggest you always take a buddy with you when you use it."

You glance over at the wooden table sitting at the edge of the beach, and can see various vegetables, canned goods, plates, and cooking utensils. You nod your head and look back at your teacher.

"The training will begin first thing tomorrow morning. But tonight, you're on your own. Have you got it handled?"

"YES, SIR!" the entire class shouts.

Though some of them were not confident that they did.

—————

"Sero, we need to secure this rope to the tree! Little help?"

"Sure thing!"

The tents that the school supplied were built to house four people in each. There were two four-man tents for the girls, and four for the boys. One of the boys tents would only have two boys because of uneven numbers.

Yaoyorozu had insisted on bringing her own tent, which was purple in colour and was a fifteen-man tent.

It was a little annoying, to say the least.

It took half an hour for you and all of the girls to set it up, and it seemed like you were the only one who had ever touched a tent peg before. You wasted too much time on it. And after it was finally done, you rushed to set up the rest of the smaller tents with the others.

You had help from the boys, especially Sero when it came to securing them down. It was obvious that the tents hadn't been used in a while, and lots of them were missing pegs.

"Okay, you got this one?"

"I think we got it! If it's the same as you showed us on the last one, we can manage! Go help the others."

"Great. E! Can you help Ochaco at the water trowel? Those buckets are going to be heavy."

"On it!"

You turn around, "You good with that tent, Jirou? Do you guys need a hand?"

"I, uh- I think we got it!" Jirou says sweating as she and Ashido very obviously did not, have it.

You laugh. "Katsuki, you're good with the tents right? Can you give them a hand?"

“Idiots." Bakugou cusses and storms over to them. "Get the hell out of my way, let me do it."

"Alright, Tokoyami, how's that firewood? I gotta get started on that fire, it's going to get dark soon."

He nod and smiled. "It's all there."

You threw a thumbs up and nod at the boys, turning around to head to the middle of the tent area, and you jog to the tree line to start gathering rocks.

You weren't sure how you ended up giving instructions to everybody, but having designated tasks and purposes seemed to be calming them all down.

You create a medium-sized rock circle on the beach and quickly dig out a crater in the centre. You are sitting on your knees in the sand as you dig and use the firewood that Tokoyami had gathered to build up a triangle formation.

You jump up and jog to the trees to get some dry leaves and kindling, and then run back down to the beach.

"You okay with that, Katsuki?"

"What the hell do you think? Of course I am."

You laugh and kneel down beside the fire pit again, tucking the kindling carefully into the centre of the firewood triangle.

Then, you focus hard as you bring the tip of your finger into the lowest centre point, against a little leaf, and your eyes turn purple.

A tiny barb of plasma, about an inch in length, comes out of the tip of your finger, and zaps the leaf. It smokes slowly for a few seconds before it bursts into flames.

Not wanting to let it fizzle out, you crouch down next to it and gently blow the burning leaf, giving the fire oxygen.

And soon enough, it starts to catch onto the other kindling. The fire slowly starts to grow, and you gently fan it with your hands, trying to nurture it to life.

Some of the girls and boys who had finished their jobs already were standing over near Bakugou, keeping their distance as he worked on tightening the tent pegs. They watched you working, very closely.

"She's really taking initiative over there."

"She seems to know a lot about this camping stuff."

"Yeah, but surely asking Todoroki to light that fire would have been easier than what she's doing now, right?"

"I honestly don't think she cares about convenience. She just wants the job done."

"Again, with the opportunity."

"I can't lie, she's pretty cool."

Suddenly, the fire in front of you gets hungry and aggressive and grows to catch onto all the wood. It starts to burn very bright, and you lean back away from it.

The students smile as they see your hands go up in excitement. They start to cheer for you in celebration.

You turn around smiling hugely at them, and you nod as thanks.

"She's so cute."

"Right?!"

——————

You are chopping up carrots on a board quickly, when you glance to your left at the person beside you who is chopping the long spring onions.

You notice that he seems to be struggling, so you put your knife down and turn to him calmly.

"Hey Todoroki, can I give you some advice?"

He looks down and picks up the greenery that was half chopped, but was all still sticking together. Then he glances at you. "Please."

You laugh, taking the knife from him and as he moves out of the way, you step in front of his board. "If you do it like this, it'll be a lot faster and the knife will actually seperate the pieces with each slice, then you won’t have to pull them apart with your hands later."

He bends down to get a closer look. “I see. It’s that sliding motion that makes the difference, right?”

“Exactly. It’s very discrete, but you caught it.” you nod proudly, handing the knife back to him. “Now, you try.”

He takes the knife and copies your movements, much slower, being careful not to cut himself.

“Perfect,” you tap his shoulder politely. “Keep at it!”

“Tch. What kinda idiot can’t chop shallots right?”

You nudge Bakugou who is on your right with your elbow, “Shut up. You can offer judgment when you can actually make even cuts.” you pick up a piece of the tofu he was chopping, holding it up to his face. “This one is way bigger, so it’s gonna cook slower than the rest. Keep that in mind if you don’t want it to suck ass.”

He scoffs, and continues chopping. “Whatever. f*cking bullsh*t. It’s perfect as is.”

You laugh and roll your eyes, turning around to look at the girls who were gathered around the fire with a pot on top of it.

"How's that water coming along? If it's boiling, it's ready to add the kimchi!"

"Okay! I'll add it now."

——————

As the sun goes down, you are finally all finished preparing dinner.

You are all sitting at the long table, with your feet in the sand beneath it. You each had your bowls of kimchi stew, and a side plate of rice to go with it. Tokoyami and Ojiro had been responsible for cooking the rice, and it turned out to be the perfect consistency.

“Thank you for the meal!”

“This is amazing, i’ve never had kimchi jjigae before!”

“Yeah, Rei-san, how’d you learn to make this?”

“It’s a Korean dish. I used to make it at home all the time,” you speak to the class, “It’s pretty easy, since most of the flavour comes from the kimchi itself, and it’s good for your gut health.”

“It’s delicious!”

“Plus, they gave us all the right ingredients for it, and I haven’t had it in ages, so i’m pretty excited.”

“And it’s getting cold out, so the hot soup is so perfect!”

“And I must say how lovely it is that we have such a beautiful view to go with dinner.”

At Yaoyorozu’s comment, you look to your left down towards the beach. The beautiful orange and pink sunset was reflecting on the water, and lighting up your face. It truely was beautiful.

And as the sun goes down and night slowly welcomes you over a warm dinner, you all share conversations and funny stories. You laugh and joke and enjoy every bite of the food.

You all knew you had a big day ahead, so as soon as you are finished with your meals, you head off to get ready for bed.

Chapter 32: Truth Or Dare

Chapter Text

You were in your tent.

The girls rooming with you were Jirou, Ashido, and Hagakure.

The four of you had been chatting casually while you got ready for bed. After getting changed into your comfortable sleeping clothes - sweatpants, a hoodie, and a beanie - you all went in a group to the bathroom.

You stayed close together, giggling and chatting about how cold it was suddenly.

Then, when you were all back in your tent with your sleeping bags setup, and a small portable overhead light that the school had supplied you with, you start to get yourself comfortable. Sitting on your knees, you fluff up your tiny pillow, putting some spare clothes underneath it to make it firmer, and you laugh at Hagakure as she struggles to unzip her bag.

Suddenly, someone ruffles the door at the tent. You hear hands moving around near the zipper, and you glance at Ashido.

"Who is that?" you mouth silently.

"I don't know," she mouths back.

"Pssst, hey guys," the voice suddenly says as the zip pulls down and Ochaco's head pops into the tent. "Me and the other girls are all hanging out in Momo's tent. Do you guys wanna come chat with us for a bit?"

You experimentally look to the others, curious about their takes.

You are all silent looking around at each other for a moment.

"She brought chocolate."

And suddenly, like a stampede, the four of you all race to the door of the tent. You slip over loose clothes, shove each other while giggling, and sprint across the sand to Yaoyorozu's tent.

All of you gather in a huge circle in the centre of the tent. It was perfectly lit up because Yaoyorozu had created a fancy light to keep the place bright for everyone. And since it was so cold, she had also created a few heat lamps to spread around the tent, and warm up the atmosphere.

You had one right in front of you, which you held your open palms out to, in an attempt to warm up.

You are all sitting cross-legged, as you start to share around the various packets of super fancy Norwegian chocolate that Yaoyorozu had brought with her.

"Mmm, delicious!"

"I'm gonna have to brush my teeth again."

"Screw that, I can't be bothered doing that again. I'll just accept the cavities."

You laugh.

"Awww~ All of the 1-A girlies together, this is so fun."

You smile at Ashido in agreement.

"Momo, this tent is seriously huge. All of us can fit in here easily and I think there's plenty of room for more people."

"Well, I wasn't sure if we were going to be supplied with tents or not, so I bought one from the store that I thought at least a few of us could fit into."

"You bought it just for this trip?" You blink in shock. "How much did that cost you?"

On your right, Ashido nudges your elbow. "Little tip: Yaomomo is filthy rich. Like, disgustingly rich."

Your jaw drops open and you look back towards her. She starts to blush, somehow looking like the opposite of humble.

You stare in bewilderment. But, honestly, her articulate way of communicating and constantly extravagant belongings did kind of suggest big money in her family.

Her dorm-room made a little more sense now.

"Okay. I think it's time for a game of truth or dare."

You bite back a nervous smile, looking around the circle at everyone's reactions. The girls tap each other with excitement, and wiggle around to get more comfortable on all of the extra blankets that Yaoyorozu had.

"Me first! Tsu-chan. Truth or dare?"

"Um...truth. Ribbit."

"Is it true that you eat flies?"

That question felt oddly blunt, right off the bat. But Tsuyu seemed to take it well as she was in high spirits, and laughs it off. "Sometimes. But I still prefer normal food."

"Yeah, didn't you know that? At the dorms, Tsu-chan is our resident fly-catcher. Any time there is a bug, she's who we call to crawl up on the wall to get it. You should see her in action, it's pretty awesome!"

You feel a shiver run down your spine, still stuck on the whole 'eats flies' thing.

"Me next! Okay, Ochaco." Ashido singles her out with a conniving grin. "Truth or dare?"

Ochaco looks suspicious. "Mmmmm, truth."

"You know we alllllll saw you getting all giddy on the bus with Midoriya today. So spill the beans: what happened?"

You watch as her face goes from super pale, to bright beet red in a split second.

"Dare."

"Ugh, you can't do that!" Ashido rolls her head back. "There isn't any good dares we can do in here, anyway. Let's just play truth or truth, how 'bout it?"

"No!"

"Fine. Then, I dare you to..." Ashido hums looking at the tent roof while she thinks. Then, a thought pops into her head. "Got it! I dare you to let us use your phone for one whole minute."

Ochaco slaps her face in defeat. "Nooooo! I don't trust you!"

You watch on with a continual laugh that gradually gets louder as Ashido finally convinces Ochaco to hand her phone over. And since Ashido is right beside you, you get to watch closely as she immediately finds Midoriya's contact and texts him 'i love you'. You then experience Ochaco actually die in front of you, falling back onto the blankets and dropping dead.

You all laugh at her, and wait for her to stop being dramatic.

You raise your hand. "Okay, me next! I got one for Jirou~ Truth or dare?"

She looks nervous, covering a shy smile with her sweater sleeve. "Dare."

She is obviously scared of picking truth, she could see in your eyes that you had something up your sleeve.

"I dare you to go knock on the boy's tent, and moan as loud as you can when they open the door."

"TRUTH! I MEANT TRUTH!"

"Okay~" you thin your eyes and grin. "Then tell us what's going on between you and Kaminari."

Her face goes even redder than Ochaco's.

"W-What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. It's impossible not to notice the little glances you share, and you always seem to find a way to each other. Come on, tell us! You totally have a crush on him!"

"Oh, I been waiting for this one! Go on, spill!"

"It's true, isn't it?"

Jirou finally surrenders, bringing her knees up to her chest. "Okay! Fine! I guess...I guess I have a tiny crush on him."

Ashido squeals so loud that you can feel your ear drums burst. You cover your ears in pain.

"OI!" a raging male voice echoes into the night, taking you all by surprise. "SHUT THE f*ck UP! I'M TRYNA SLEEP! IF I HEAR ANOTHER SOUND I'M COMING IN THERE TO MURDER EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU DUMB GIRLS!"

All of you cover your mouths and look around at each other, desperately trying not to burst into laughter.

"He's so dumb," you whisper.

"Hey, that reminds me," Ashido side-eyes you, and looks more than a little conspicuous. "Truth or dare?"

"Oh, um," you were about to go with dare, but then you thought of the atrocities she might make you commit, so you change your mind. "Truth."

"Tell us the deal with you and Bakugou." she flatlines, smiling so bright you feel the need to look away. "And don't even try to deny it - I have a witness."

"A witness? A witness to what? Nothing has happened."

"Oh, is that so?" she grins, shifting her gaze to land on Tsuyu. "Tsu?"

Tsuyu turns to look at you and she develops a guilty frown. "I'm sorry, Rei-chan! I'm so sorry I told her!"

"Told her what? What the f*ck is going on?"

There was nothing that she could possibly have against you, was there? In this situation, you were genuinely innocent. Unless she was to make up a lie, then, what was she talking about?

"Please forgive me, Rei-chan. But, I-I told Mina that I saw you and Bakugou hugging late at night. On the oval, a few days ago." she drops a tear, "I'm sorry! I'm a terrible friend!"

"Huh? Whoa, relax Tsu. You don't have to apologise!"

Ochaco starts to comfort her.

You look back at Ashido.

"Well? Explain yourself!"

This felt like an intense interrogation against you suddenly, but the overall vibe of the conversation was still somewhat lighthearted.

"I cant really explain that, other than saying that we were having a chat, and it got a bit emotional. I see how it's looks incriminating, but, trust me, we're just friends."

"Yeah, right."

"Yeah, seriously, who else in this whole entire world is aloud to call him by his first name?"

"And why is the emotional conversation taking place in the middle of the night? You were totally sneaking around!"

"You're looking way too far into it," you shake your head. You feel your cheeks warming up, and you immediately realise how the other girls must have felt when they were called upon, and you mentally swear not to do it to them again.

"Plus, you're the only one that he treats like a real human. And I saw him waiting for you out the front of the school twice! Come on, how can you deny it with all the evidence!?"

Your face shows genuine shock. And just like that, you are forced to switch to offence.

"No, i'm being honest here. There is nothing romantic going on between me and him, if that's what you're really insinuating. I get how it looks that way, but it's not. And honestly, there never will be anything like that between us. He's an insecure, arrogant bastard, who doesn't know how to handle his emotions. Every time I-"

You force yourself to stop speaking as you realise something.

You had just made his vulnerability out to be a bad thing.

In front of everyone.

Your face goes even redder than before and you shake your head. "Wait, I take that back. He's really not that bad, he's just confused, like the rest of us. He does some sh*tty things and sticks his nose where he shouldn't, but at the end of the day he's no different than any other kid his age. I think we're all just a little imperfect. Katsu- uh, Bakugou, is no excuse."

Ochaco giggles at your slip up, suddenly awake again.

"But, no, seriously. There is sure as hell nothing romantic going on between us. You really gotta work on your cupid radar, Ashido." you grin at her.

"Awwww, no fair! I totally thought I called that one!"

You shrug. "You're getting rusty."

She looks defeated and frustrated, and she forces some more chocolate into her face.

After what feels like a lifetime, the girls finally move on from the topic of you and Bakugou.

They go off to ask the next invasive question to the next helpless victim, and you find yourself tuning out on accident.

But you couldn't help it, that conversation had really taken you by storm.

You felt deeply embarrassed that someone had caught your intimate moment on the field.

But, at the same time, a tiny part of you was glad that someone had seen it. At least you knew it really happened.

Granted, you didn't know why.

But you were.

Chapter 33: Keep At It

Chapter Text

"Good morning, students. How was your first night?"

At first, nobody responds.

The class as a whole, looks pretty terrible.

Aizawa stands with his hands in his pockets, the morning sun rising just behind him. He looks over his students and finds most of the girls to be looking like they had barely survived an atomic bomb, and the boys were not much better.

You had made a grave error, staying up as late as you did. Not only did you spend the majority of the night playing games and eating snacks, but all the giggling had kept half of the boys awake, too. Come the early morning wake up, you were all extremely lethargic and weak. Your arms are hanging low in their sockets and you all have dark circles under your eyes that are dark enough to make Aizawa genuinely concerned.

"Right. Well, you're alive at least."

"Barely," Ochaco groans.

Aizawa shakes his head. "I don't know why you all look so terrible, but, if you were dumb enough to stay up too late chatting, just know, you will reap the consequences today. And, if any of you would like to eat, I suggest you pull yourselves together, quickly. You still have to make your own breakfast. And, I expect you all to meet me in the tree break in exactly one hour for drills."

You feel dread melting your bones.

"Anyone late will be running laps around the island until they drop dead. Got it?"

"Yes...sir."

"Jesus," Aizawa huffs, turning around to storm off back into the forest. "Damn kids."

——————

You were definitely awake now.

After spending the last hour unleashing huge blasts of plasma at the rocky side of a mountain, you had just about carved a cave into it.

You were doing some serious damage.

Not wanting to hesitate, you slash your arm horizontally through the air, grunting as you unleash, and a huge slash of bright purple plasma flies out, slamming into the rock face, and cutting right through the layers.

You were certainly making a...dent.

You barely give yourself a second to breathe as you do the same move with your opposite arm. You charge flies into the rock wall and it sends smaller rocks from above trickling down.

"Rei."

The voice catches you off guard.

Sweating and panting, you quickly turn around to face your teacher as he approaches you.

"Hey Aizawa."

"How is your training coming along?"

You nod and smile, "Great. It's starting to feel like my power gets stronger every time I use it."

"Hm." Aizawa looks down at your hands.

They are smoking.

"Are you aware that this area of the clearing is starting to feel significantly hotter than the rest of the forest? It's as if the air is denser, and I almost broke a sweat just walking over here. Are you keeping tabs on the dangers that this kind of firepower might pose to passing classmates? These are all things you need to pay attention to, Rei."

You tilt your head in thought. "I guess it is hard to keep track of, but the air does feel kind of thick now that you mention it."

Aizawa nods. "Alright, that's enough of this for now. I appreciate the effort you are putting in, but i'm pretty sure you're going to bring that whole mountain down soon. There are students on the other side who are evading a landslide as we speak."

"sh*t," you look down at your hands, opening and closing your fists. "I didn't even notice."

"You should be noticing. It is important to divide your focus evenly among all the aspects that need it. You cannot only think of expelling the biggest blast you can, but rather, where it's going to land, and also, what is behind that. With this kind of power, you need to think of these things. Yes this is an island dedicated to this kind of thing, but you want to avoid blowing the entire facility to rubble, right? Don't forget that you aren't the only one here."

Solemnly, you nod in understanding.

You had perhaps been a little complacent so far.

You didn't even think of who might be on the other side of the mountain. It completely slipped your mind.

Aizawa recognises the shame on your face.

"Don't worry, your training is coming along nicely. If anything, I am impressed with the rate of your growth. Maybe you should just focus on something else for a little bit. There are lots of areas that are going to need your attention, not just f*ck-off blasts."

An image of Bakugou crosses your mind, and it makes you want to smile.

"I-"

You cut yourself off as you feel the ground start to shake.

The rocky terrain beneath your feet starts to tremble aggressively, and you and Aizawa both spread your feet to steady yourselves.

Your arms come out for balance and you look around for the culprit.

And suddenly, through a big portion of trees, a huge ice wall shoots up and into the sky, almost piercing the clouds.

It rips the air right out of your lungs.

You and Aizawa both look up at the ice, amazed and bewildered.

"Hm. Todoroki is getting stronger too."

When Aizawa looks back down at you, he sees you beaming and still staring at the ice.

"I have an idea."

—————-

"Alright, just try to reach me with one of your ice blasts."

"Are you sure? You might get stuck in it, and that can be pretty uncomfortable."

You widen your legs and you set your arms alight. A strong glow emanates from both of your arms, from the shoulders to the tips of your fingers, and tiny surging bolts zap around the skin like lightening. A thin layer of purple fire is burning over the whole surface area of your exposed skin.

You grin. "I won't."

"Alright, and you're sure I shouldn't hold back?"

"Hell no."

"Okay. Then i'll do it now."

Todoroki moves his foot slightly on the ground, and instantly, a huge wall of ice comes blasting towards you, it swallows up all the ground and freezes everything in its path.

You move both arms directly out in front of you and face your open palms towards the ice.

You focus hard and a thick beam of plasma explodes out of your hands, flying across the field like a rocket. You can feel the power surging out of your veins, as it crashes into the front of his ice.

And in just a second, a split moment in time, Todoroki's enormous ice wall turns to nothing but shards of broken ice on the ground. The ice is left sizzling and half melted, and completely overcome by your blast.

Todoroki, being hit by a huge force in the backlash of your move, was lying on his back on the floor, a few metres back from where he had just been standing.

You panic, calling out to him. "Todoroki! Are you okay?!"

He props himself up on his elbows, looking at you. His face looks stunned and confused. "Jeez...that power."

"I didn't mean to hit you! I must have gone overboard."

"You didn't hit me," Todoroki corrects in a daze as he stands himself up slowly. "I was pushed this far back from just the force of your attack meeting mine. That was... just a wind, and it was strong enough...to do that."

You glance down at your hands, and just in the centre of your palms, you can see your veins glowing purple.

You were getting stronger.

You suddenly look up as you feel a gust of wind, and you spot Iida running past you almost too fast to keep up with. He clears the field in seconds. Yet, he still finds time to wave.

"GOOD TRAINING, YOU TWO! KEEP IT UP!"

You glance back at Todoroki as Iida disappears, and a smile infects both of you.

"Okay. I say we try that again." Todoroki dusts off his hands. "But this time, i'm going to go all out."

You clench your fists in excitement, nodding your head. And you get ready.

"That's what I like to hear."

—————

"Hey, Katsuki, can you help me with something?"

"Eh?" Bakugou turns around from the cauldron of hot water he had just been utilising. He shifts his body to face you as you approach him from the other side of the field. "What the hell could I help you with?"

"Well, I had a new mobility training idea. I just thought I'd ask you to help me execute it."

"Can't you do that with Icy-Hot? You two seem to be a perfect match."

You can hear and feel the sarcasm poisoning his voice. He was never very good at being discrete.

You smile. "No. I was going too hard and could feel myself overheating. I want to try something different, if you have a couple minutes to help me out?"

"Well, what the hell is it?"

Cut to twenty minutes later, you and Bakugou are both sweating profusely. You are on one side of the clearing, he is on the other.

He has a pile of rocks by his feet, and a big rock in his hand.

You are standing poised like a superhero, with your one hand and both feet touching the ground, staring up into the sky with laser focus.

"You ready dumbass?" Bakugou yells out. "You better not miss any this time!"

You nod. "Ready."

"Let's see it, then."

Bakugou swings his arm back and then with an explosion, blasts the rock he was holding as hard and fast as he can, throwing it South.

In reaction to his throw, you blast out of your feet towards the rock.

You shoot through the air like a flaming meteor, keeping your eyes trained on your target—the rock. And in a fraction of a second, you catch up to the rock, and catch it with both hands, stopping it in its path, immediately.

Bakugou had already launched the second rock North.

So you throw the rock to the ground, and redirecting your trajectory, you flip around, blasting more plasma from your feet, and chasing after the new target. Your eyes lock onto it and you fly towards it.

By the time you catch the sixth rock, Bakugou announces that he has run out.

Finally.

You tardily cool off the chase, and lower yourself back down to the earth.

There is an interesting pattern of smoke trails all over the sky, where you had just been flying. It sort of looks like a checkerboard.

Exhausted and puffing profusely, you drop to your hands and knees on the dirt, looking down, and you allow the sweat beads to roll off your nose.

You can hear Bakugou's footsteps approaching you.

"That was better." he says. "Still slow, though."

You look up at him, struggling to catch your breath, but you offer a weak laugh through the gasps anyway.

Then his hand comes out in front of you, and you stare at it.

"Come on. Again."

Despite how tired you are, you bring your hand up and place it in his. He pulls you up to your feet with more strength than either of you anticipated. Perhaps a little too much.

You stumble towards him and bump into his chest.

His hand lands on your hip and he pushes you away, surprisingly gently.

A raging blush affects both of you, and you look away from each other.

You pull yourselves together, but Bakugou ultimately beats you to it.

"Y/N, be straight with me. Why did you ask me to do this with you?"

You wipe your hands together, finally finding the courage to turn back around and face him. "Why do you mean?"

"I mean, just about any other student in this class is capable of throwing a damn rock into the air. So why the hell did you ask me? You saw I was busy, right?"

You allow his question to bounce around the walls in your brain for a few seconds, as you wait for the true answer to come to you.

"Honestly?"

You look to the ground, feeling flustered and nervous.

"Duh."

"I just wanted to hang out with you for a bit."

"You-" Bakugou stutters and takes a step back.

The two of you are in a weird situation. There are buckets of tension washing over you, garnished with unease. You are both a little uncomfortable. But, not necessarily in a bad way.

By the time you finally look up at him again, you find him smiling down at you.

"Idiot." he shakes his head, not dropping his smile. "Let's go again, then."

You could see right through his sh*t.

And it seemed that he could see through yours, too.

And if anything, that fact just made you feel closer to him.

Chapter 34: Ghost Stories

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It’s the second night of camp.

After overseeing the preparation and cooking of yet another delicious meal with your class, you somehow found yourself in a certain predicament.

You were in Yaoyorozu’s tent with a bunch of other students, again.

And it was already past midnight.

Apparently, you never learn.

Despite how exhausted you all were from the day training, the conversations that you were having with the few students that chose to stay up, were simply too good to pass up on.

Some of the students were too tired to participate. You’d lost some soldiers, and gained some more.

Some of the boys had even joined in.

The group of survivors consisted of you, Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, Jirou and Ashido, Sero, Shinsou, Kirishima, and Kaminari.

The night was all fun and games, up until a certain point.

But where you had gone wrong, was when somebody insisted that you trade ghost stories.

It had been pretty smooth sailing for the last hour, with the stories always ending in a scream, a gasp, or even sometimes a laugh.

But for the next story, it was Shinsou who volunteered.

For the sake of making a fitting atmosphere, Yaoyorozu had created a small red lamp, and turned off all of the other lights. So the tent was nearly completely dark, aside from one light source in the centre of the circle, lighting all of your faces a chilling dark red.

Shinsou sits up straight and starts to glance around the circle creepily. A grin sneaks onto his lips, as he begins.

“This is called ‘Drip-Drip’.” Shinsou immediately gets into character. “So, the story starts with a woman who lived alone with her beloved pet dog, Bonnie. Both of them lead a very quiet life, keeping to themselves, and Bonnie always slept underneath the woman’s bed at night. For comfort, the woman would reach her hand down to pat Bonnie before sleeping every single night. Bonnie would always lick her hand, and they’d go to sleep with the comfort of knowing that they had each other.”

You feel the beginning of the story immediately breaking your walls down. You could feel the sweetness from the foreshadowing was succeeding in lowering your guard, and that was bad news. You knew it was making you vulnerable.

You clutched onto Kirishima’s arm, as Shinsou continues.

“One night, just like any other, the woman gets into bed, flicks off her lamp, and reachers her hand under the bed to give Bonnie his nighttime pat. And just like every other night, Bonnie licks her in warm regard. The woman allows Bonnie to lick up the back of her hand, and all over her fingers, before she brings her hand back up onto the bed and gets ready to sleep.” Shinsou’s eyes seem to carry an unnerving haunt, as they burn into the soul of each person he looks at while he tells his story. “It isn’t long after, that she hears a dripping sound, echoing throughout the house.”

You look to the opposite side of the circle, where all the girls were huddling into each other, with Sero right in the centre.

He seemed to be enjoying it.

Feeling indescribably on edge, you are almost shaking, and holding onto Kirishima for dear life. On your right, Jirou is holding onto Kaminari.

Both of you are embarrassed to admit how scared you already are.

You look back at Shinsou, and press your cheek against Kirishima’s shoulder.

“So the woman gets out of bed to go and find the sound, in hopes of stopping it. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to sleep with that sound bugging her all night. So she starts in the kitchen, and she checks the tap. No leak. She even goes to check under the sink, and finds nothing. Still able to clearly hear the annoying sound, she goes to check the laundry. There, she has a close look at the laundry sink, and there is no dripping sound. She even goes out the back door to check the hose tap, as it often came loose. However, there was no leak. Confused, and frustrated, she decides to check the last room where there was a tap. The ensuite bathroom. So she shuffles back into her bedroom and heads into the small bathroom, switching on the light, and checking the sink. And it’s bone dry. It isn’t until she turns around, that she realises where the sound was coming from.”

Shinsou pauses for dramatic effect.

“Behind her, staring right back at her through the clear glass of her shower, is the deceased body of her beloved dog Bonnie, hanging from the shower head.”

Various muted gasps fill the silent tent.

You feel chills take over your entire body, and your grip on Kirishima’s arm tightens. He holds onto you tighter too, looking just as terrified.

“The women lets out a scream of horror, after seeing that Bonnie’s blood was dripping from his mouth, and landing in a puddle at the foot of the shower. The woman had found the dripping sound, but after finding the answer she had been searching for, a new question makes her blood run cold…”

Shinsou glances at you for a brief moment, and you are holding your breath.

“Because if Bonnie was dead in the shower…” Shinsou pauses again, looking left and right. “Then who was licking her hand?”

A terrified gasp fills the room.

“AHHHHHHHHH!”

“NO, NO, NO, NO!”

“I HATE IT, I HATE IT!”

“STOP! STOP!”

You slam your eyes shut and turn your face to press it against Kirishima’s shoulder. You try not to scream, but your throat is begging to.

Shinsou’s body language finally softens as he leans back, confident that he had shared the best story yet.

Kaminari is enjoying having Jirou hide behind him.

“Heh, damn, Shinsou, you’re scarily good at this,” Kaminari laughs, tapping Jirou’s leg in comfort. “I gotta say, you’re a pretty freaky dude.”

Shinsou shrugs. “I read it online when I was younger. Never been the same since.”

“I don’t like this anymore.”

You look up at Ochaco from across the circle, and you both have tears in your eyes. “Me neither.”

“Can we stop with the ghost stories now? I’m seriously scared.”

“Sorry guys,” Shinsou mumbles with his hands up in surrender. “You asked for scary.”

“It’s not your fault,” you hold out a hand towards him. “We’ve just been at this for so long, I think we’re seriously going to psych ourselves out if we don’t stop.”

“And what if I can’t sleep? Ugh, this was such a bad idea. I’m all jittery!”

“Yeah, I don’t feel good.”

“Should we just call it a night?”

You glance at Kirishima, and finally let go of your iron grip on his arm.

“I guess. f*ck.” you sigh, feeling the hairs on your arms standing up. You had goosebumps over your entire body.

“Alright, we’ll head back to our tents, now.” Kirishima sits forward and starts to crawl towards the exit. “Are you girls going to be okay?”

You all stare at each other, pretty convinced that you were not going to be okay.

You all sit in silence, dreading the idea of ending up alone in here.

You stare at Kirishima as he raises his hand to the door.

“Ugh, guys?” he suddenly pauses at the door, his hand stuck on the zipper, not moving at all. “I…don’t wanna go out there.”

“Oh, thank god.”

You let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Just stay here! Let’s all sleep in here! Is that okay, Momo? I’m too scared to sleep alone!”

“Honestly, I think it would make me feel a little better about going to sleep if I knew the boys were in here.” she rubs her neck nervously. “Would you guys mind?”

“Fine by me.” Kaminari immediately shuffles forward and starts to lie down beside where Jirou was sitting.

“Yup. This is better anyway.”

Kirishima crawls back to his place beside you. You and him move around each other and you tug your hoodie over your head, trying to manoeuvre the single blanket that you were going to have to share with three people.

“Here, guys. This should make your sleep more comfortable.”

Yaoyorozu starts passing out a bunch of pillows and blankets as she creates them.

You take one with a shocked look on your face. “Wow, thank you, Momo. These are so soft.”

“I studied the genetic make up of my duvet from home, so they should be comfortable enough for you all.” Yaoyorozu hands them to the others one by one. “There. You should all have one now. Is that okay? Does anybody need anything?”

“I need my mom.”

You laugh at Ashido, as you lie down sandwiched between Kirishima and Jirou.

You look up at Shinsou to see him frowning and quietly getting into a comfortable sleeping position.

You can tell that he feels guilty.

“Hey. That was a good story, Shinsou. You got us all so worked up.”

“Yeah, dude. I still got goosebumps.”

“I seriously doubt I’m going to be able to sleep, but that was fun!”

Shinsou looks up at you, sitting on his knees, and he smiles before looking down into his lap.

“Thanks. I’m sorry if it was…too much.”

“That’s the point of ghost stories, isn’t it?” you say, “I’m thoroughly impressed. You should pull that out on the other guys tomorrow night.”

He scoffs and nods his head before lying down completely. “Maybe I will.”

You then glance just behind him at the tent zipper, and a new fear crosses your mind.

“Ugh, Sero? Would you mind?” you point towards the door.

“On it,” he nods, understanding immediately.

He sits up and shoots out some of his tape before using it to heavily barricade the zipper door. He tapes it all up perfectly, covering all of the zip, and then heads back to his spot between Yaoyorozu and Ochaco.

“Goodnight, everybody.”

Somebody switches off the red light finally.

“If you can’t sleep, try to remember that it’s just a story.”

Silence, and darkness takes over the tent and it becomes the most suffocating silence you have ever felt. You can hear your heart beating in your chest, and you can hear Kirishima’s too.

“Um, guys?”

Your voice echoes around the tent and it makes you feel even more anxious.

“Can we turn a f*cking light on?”

You hear somebody chuckle, then some ruffling sounds, before one of the white lamps come on, giving you enough light to see.

“Thanks.”

It is quiet again for a moment before everybody starts to laugh, chuckling together, and it gets louder and louder as you slowly start to find the terrifying situation kind of amusing.

It definitely called for some tee-hees.

Notes:

[A/N]:
damn a story within a story? i really am a pro writer lol😩😩
be honest, was it scary? lmao i thought it was. annnnyway, are you readers enjoying this so far? lemme know what u think! sorry for the slow burn, it’s basically my trademark at this point lmaoooo

Genesis | bk. - madwoozy - 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia (2024)

Chapter 1

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Chapter 2: The Beginning

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Chapter 3: News Report

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Chapter 4: Revolutionary

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Chapter 5: Dangerous

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Chapter 6: Firepower

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Chapter 7: Recruiting

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Chapter 8: Plasma Power

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Chapter 9: The Games

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Chapter 10: Saving Grace

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Chapter 11: [CHARACTER INFO]

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Chapter 12: Explosives

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Chapter 13: Unsatisfied

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Chapter 14: Pep Talk

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Chapter 15: Testing Your Limits

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Chapter 16: f*ck The Rules

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Chapter 17: Storm Chaser

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Chapter 18: Escort

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Chapter 19: Familiarities

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Chapter 20: Best Interest

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Chapter 21: Striker

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Chapter 22: Spilled Blood

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Chapter 23: White Lies

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Chapter 24: Atomic Bomb

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Chapter 25: Jealousy

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Chapter 26: Go For It

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Chapter 27: Leap Of Faith

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Chapter 28: Surpass Me

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Chapter 29: Spell Casting

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Chapter 30: Sensitivity

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Chapter 31: Sundown Camp

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Chapter 32: Truth Or Dare

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Chapter 33: Keep At It

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Chapter 34: Ghost Stories

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