Chapter 4

"I know this situation has been a drawback for you, but you need to get over it. The world isn't fair, it will put you through incidents you don't wanna go through, and if you ever hope to become a hero, you need to find a way to accept what's coming to you and think before you act." Began Aizawa, disappointingly staring down at Bakugo.

The teen continued to stare at the floor, sort of half-listening to what he was saying since he heard lectures similar to this in the past. Aizawa wasn't fazed. He stopped counting the many times he talked to this kid about his anger. As of now, he figured that he would never learn.

"Yesterday, I gave everyone a briefing from the school board that said any student caught violating the rules on campus would be immediately expelled from U.A."

"?!" Bakugo's brows raised above his beady eyes, surprised that this situation had gotten this far.

Now that he caught his attention, it was time to lay it down.

"Judging from your face, I take it you weren't paying attention… You broke the rules, Bakugo. I thought you learned that the last time you picked a fight."

He meant that time he snuck out to battle with Deku. Fuck, he didn't think that this damn girl would be the crossed line that would keep him from becoming a hero. It's only been his second year at U.A. and he wasn't ready to stop now. Frustrated, Bakugo clenched his fists hard. If only he had the power to change what happened, reverse it somehow.

Aizawa exhaled a long sigh of exhaustion from watching him get this tense. "I'm aware of what happened to Mineta and Kaminari as I am aware of what went down between you, Hattori, and Hatsumodo. They may not be part of your class, but they are still U.A. students, same as you."

"So when others are lying helpless or being choked to death, I'm supposed to do nothing?" Kacchan snapped under his breath.

"What you did was not an act of heroism… These three have just been forced into a real villainous situation. It's only natural that they would keep their guard up. I had hoped you would have understood that better than anyone."

"No one reacts that bad from something like this." He clearly meant the girl. He was pretty observant, but he didn't seem to know all that was going on. If he keeps this up, it won't be long before she's singled out and that wouldn't favor well for anyone.

"Hattori's behavior, according to Midnight, has always been like this, which is why she has been put in the low-leveled class in the hero department. Her reaction to physical contact has made it difficult for her to use her quirk in a way that's not destructive… But that's not where your focus should be. You need to find a way to control your anger."

There was a long pause after that. Something still wasn't right.

"Tell me, did the villains attack because they were trying to kidnap a kid?"

For a moment, the room fell quiet waiting for his answer. Katsuki only wanted to clarify the rumors, but the silence between them spoke volumes. Is it true?

"Was it -?"

"That's not important right now." Aizawa interrupted. "Whether it's one target or several, we have to protect our own. When they took you from the training camp, it could have been more disastrous than it really was. The same situation applies to them. Instead of treating them as your enemy, stand back and observe them. Doing that might lead you to some sort of understanding… Don't cause any more trouble for me."

With that said, Aizawa turned toward the exit.

"Wait! You're not kicking me out?" Bakugo asked desperately. He felt upset for having to remind the guy, but he needed to know. Forget the fight, forget the girl. Was he still able to become a hero?

Aizawa stopped.

"I'm going to let this one slide for now. The next time, it will be out of my hands... Go join the others and get supplies to fix the hole you made." Eraser Head stepped onto the platform of the elevator shaft and at the sound of the bell, the metal doors closed, leaving Bakugo completely alone in the gym.

There was a small amount of relief knowing that he had gotten off the hook, but that was too close a call. The image of those two kept coming back in his head, repeating the incident over and over… it was all their fault. He wouldn't have done this if it wasn't for them. His heart started to beat rapidly, boiling his blood with anger. A large chunk of charred ceiling fell to the floor with a loud thump, sending him over the edge. He grabbed the bottom of the weight bench and furiously flipped it over.

"Damn it!"

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Akane peered at her reflection in the bathroom mirror of the infirmary. Recovery girl healed the burn instantly before it could become infected, but sadly, there was still a small scar left behind. It looked more like a little niche or a cut than a burn, however, it was still noticeable. She grazed her finger over it, thinking back to what she had done. It only made sense that he would want to hurt her for what happened, but she really wasn't that type of person to fight back without good reason. Her first year at U.A. was spent trying to find some way to control the link between those awful memories and her actions, but there was no end to it. Maybe she was never meant to become the hero she aspired to be. At the moment, she couldn't stop thinking about those three boys she hurt. Somehow, some way, she would have to make it up to them.

She stepped out to meet with Emiri and Yuto who had been waiting outside the room. Though the wound was taken care of, they both still saw it, which made them look more worried for her.

"You okay?" he asked.

She nodded.

"You should be more careful. You don't want to be kicked out of our new dorms, do you?" Emiri pointed out.

"It wasn't her fault. That bastard had no reason for what he did. He brought it on himself."

To stop his rant from going any further, Akane gripped the sleeve of his shirt. It wasn't actually Bakugo's fault for everything that happened. He was only thinking as any friend would in that scenario.

Yuto sighed, understanding what she was trying to do. "Alright, I'll try to relax, but I'm not going to just ignore what he did to you. Maybe it's best that you stay away from him. If he got that pissed, I can only think of what he'll do if he finds out the villains were after you."

"I don't think that would matter. He was the one they kidnapped at the training camp, remember?" said Emiri.

"He definitely fits the villain profile. Still, people have always turned gossip into a bigger story than it actually is. People might get the wrong idea if they find out."

"I don't know, Yuto. Look, let's just try to forget about what happened this morning and get our stuff. At least we can try to end this day positively."

The three of them thanked the nurse before departing the building. Aizawa stood outside the school entrance to escort them back to the dorm. Once they got back, everyone was sitting around in their casual attire chatting and messing around with their phones, ready and waiting to go. The moment they saw their teacher, they huddled together and followed him to the gate off campus grounds.

Once there, they were no longer his responsibility, at least, not until curfew time. He reminded them all to meet back at the gate at 7:00 pm. The rules specified that he was supposed to escort them back anytime necessary, but he didn't really want to take extra trips back and forth. He didn't get paid enough for that shit anyways, so it was best to get everyone all at once. Anyone absent would be considered violating the rules and receive punishment. The students agreed to his terms and left.

Akane and her two classmates detoured from the group to cash in their checks at the bank before meeting them at the mall. It was only a few blocks away. As soon as they entered the crowded shopping district, the first thing they went to buy was a wallet to hold all their cash, which was surprisingly a crazy amount. They were sure that there was going to be plenty of money left over, even after buying everything they needed. They were sorry to see the original items go, but as of now, they were definitely going to make the most of it. Ashido and the girls stood by the inner entrance waiting for Emiri while the rest of class 1-A had scattered on their own. It was just Yuto and Akane. He picked up a map from an information stand and opened it for her.

"Where should we go first?"

Looking over the list, her fingers stopped at one store, the book store.

Yuto chuckled. "I figured you'd wanna go there, but wouldn't it be best to get what we need first?"

She thought it over for a second and nodded.

They proceeded to walk to the office store for school supplies, several athletic and clothing stores, salons and parlors, and even a few novelty shops. Before they knew it, three hours had gone by. They walked around until they came across a used game store that Yuto couldn't stop himself from going into. Akane wasn't much for games, so she took the time to wait patiently on the bench outside and look around. She had plenty of bags, but this wasn't even half the list of things she needed to buy. Thank God, they had three days for this. This was going to be annoying going back and forth over and over again, but it was better than staying cooped up in the dorm doing nothing.

"Aww man! I don't have enough."

She turned to the direction of the familiar voice to see the yellow-haired boy Kaminari talking to Mineta behind the candy kiosk. He rummaged through his pockets looking for some much needed change, but unfortunately was unable to find any. Mineta seemed to be in the same boat.

"Looks like we'll have to try next time."

Once that was said, they walked away. Then an idea instantly popped into her head.

She went over to the stand next to the lady in the bright pink uniform ringing up a new purchase for a young girl. While waiting, Akane curiously looked at the child's plastic bag to see what kind of taste she had for candy, and it looked like she was into the sour stuff, just like her. The brand had just released a new flavored sour patch that was guaranteed to pucker your mouth. Her bag was full of it.

"That'll be 875 yen." said the cashier with a smile.

The girl presented her small pocket change to the lady, her eyes full of excitement to get her treat. The lady finished counting and frowned.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. It seems you still need another 150."

The news immediately caused her bright smile to fade, almost teary eyed with disappointment. Akane glanced from her long lilac hair down to her slightly worn clothes. She looked to be no more than nine years old and probably couldn't afford to get sweets very often. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a large bill and gave it to the lady. The gesture caught the girl's surprise.

"Miss, that's too much." Explained the lady. Akane became slightly annoyed as she handed it off to her again.

"Give her another pound and it'll be enough…" she ordered, her tone hitting a panicked nerve to the cashier.

"Y-yes, ma'am." As instructed, she added another scoop of sour patches into the bag and weighed it to be sure it matched a pound before taking the money. She gave it to the little girl who then couldn't stop grinning.

"Thank you so much, big sis!" she exclaimed before skipping off. There was no need to thank her for a smile like that. Just having her happy is enough.

"Can I help you get anything, Miss?" asked the cashier.

"Those two boys who were here a second ago. I'd like to buy the bag they couldn't pay for…"

"So charitable today, aren't we?" She smiled as she pulled out the bag from behind the counter. It seemed she didn't have time to sort it back. Akane made sure to double the amount of sweets before paying the nice lady. There wasn't much in it to begin with, so maybe they would appreciate her efforts.

Akane returned to the bench and waited until Yuto came back out with a decently sized bag packed with games and what appeared to be the box of a brand new console. His face could easily be read that this was the best purchase of the day for him. The only thing that would compare to make him this happy would be winning a battle.

"Hey, Akane! Check it out!"

He plopped himself down and went through all the games he bought. It was nice to see him talk with such passion about it. His attitude change since this morning was one of the things she cared about most, for she didn't want that one incident to ruin the rest of their day. Hopefully, the others would have forgotten about it too.

Out of the blue, Yuto jolted in his seat. He reached down into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Looks like he was able to recover something from the fire after all. She made a mental check to get an updated phone later on, one with extra memory gigs so that she could store more music.

"I just got a text from Emiri's new phone. Everyone's gathering in the food court to eat lunch. You wanna go?"

Now that she thought of it, she wasn't really hungry yet, even though she skipped breakfast. She shook her head.

"Oh, do you have somewhere else you need to go?"

She opened the map and pointed to the bookstore.

"Ah! Right. Would it bother you if I go meet with the others? I've kind of been starving since we got here… But if you don't feel safe going by yourself, I'll go."

She shook her head with a small smile to assure him it was okay. "It's fine."

"If you're sure… I'll save you a seat when you're done. Try not to buy out the whole store. Remember, we have a lot to carry back."

She nodded and with that, they parted ways.

It wasn't unusual for her to be alone. Most of the time, before Yuto came into her life, it was like this. It would only be problematic if she were to run into any danger, but that seemed unlikely in a public place like this. There were too many ordinary people around for anything big to go down. She would be lying if she said she wasn't still a little scared since that fateful night, but the realization eventually hit her that bad stuff happens all the time. She needed to get over it and move on, otherwise that fear would eat her alive. And what grief would that bring Yuto or Emiri if they kept on worrying about her? Those villains probably decided to move onto another target by now and forgot all about her. Taking some time for herself was the right answer, and maybe having the latest edition of her favorite manga would help.

Finally making it to the end of the hallway, she walked through the massive entrance of the bookstore. Shelves upon shelves stood erect, each perfectly lined with brand new books organized by genre and the alphabet. They still had that crisp, freshly printed, new book smell. For her, it was a calm serenity coming to this place. There were endless portals to different mental realms and they were all within arm's reach.

Akane found her way over to the massive manga section and started going down alphabetically until she found the title she was looking for. Most of the styles that interested her involved thriller, action/drama, fantasy, and romance. She was never too stingy spreading her horizons when it came to fiction. Any way to escape from the nightmares of the real world, she would take it with open arms. At long last, she found the title. Using her finger, she trailed over the chapters until it stopped right at the latest edition.

There it was, and only one left.

Suddenly, her attention was drawn away when she felt the brush of another hand grazing her fingers for the same book. Turning her head, she met a pair of red beady eyes trapped behind two black framed glasses staring back at her. His look was a bit different, but there was no mistaking that permanent scowl. It was Bakugo. Akane felt a chill run down her spine when his eyes narrowed lower, as if she was not the one person he wanted to see right now. She couldn't blame him if that was true. Anxiously, she stood there staring at him, waiting for him to do or say something, but he only found it annoying.

"What the hell are you lookin' at?" He asked, almost threateningly.

Honestly, she was taken aback by the fact that he was wearing glasses. He never wore them around before, so they must be for reading. Standing there, he didn't move, waiting for her to speak, but she couldn't seem to gather the words. To answer his question indirectly, she pointed a finger to her eyes. It took him a minute to fully understand what she was trying to say when it hit him.

"Shit!"

He quickly took his hand away from the book to yank his glasses off his face and shove them into his pants pocket. Fuck! How could he be so stupid?! Of all people to see him wearing these things, it had to be her!

He hated wearing glasses. It was all because of his old man's shitty vision, and he had to be the one to inherit it. He felt like a damn nerd for having to need them. Sadly, he had no choice but to bring them today or else he wouldn't be able to read the new manga that he was so eager to get today. He needed some kind of relief after the morning he had and seeing her here just left him bitter. He was a bit surprised to find out that she liked the same one.

Just before he was going to force her not to tell anyone, he stopped at the sight of the comic book held out in front of him. What the hell? Was she giving him the last copy? Taking a glance back at her, he caught her faint smile. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Just what was she trying to pull? Fucking idiot…

Suddenly, the book was smacked out of her hand to the floor. Astonishment mixed with dismay deep down in her body, making her regret the small act of kindness. He was definitely still mad.

"Are you trying to look down on me?"

She could feel the cold sting of that sentiment in the air around them. He stepped closer to her until she could sense the heat radiating off his body and the subtle scent of his cologne. Before she had a chance to object, he forcefully gripped her shirt.

"I don't need your pity. And don't think you've beaten me just yet. I'll find your weakness, and when I do, I'll blast you so high you'll be shot into orbit!"

Akane should have been frightened by that threat, she should have resorted back to her normal shy self and run off, and hope to make an effort to avoid him in the future, just like Yuto said. This time was different, for she didn't even flinch. She understood why he would be like this, even from the start since she showed up to the dorm. It was pretty clear what kind of a person he was. Making these threats was something he did regularly. She may have unknowingly provoked him, but this, this wasn't enough to completely scare her, not like the villains. For a guy who wants to be a hero, he sure didn't give the vibe. It was almost like he was challenging her to a rematch.

When Bakugo realized that she wasn't freaking out like he expected, he clenched his teeth hard and pushed her away. He wanted so badly to send her in the air like a new year's firework finale, but the recollection of what Aizawa said still lingered in the back of his mind. He couldn't pick a fight. Even though they were out in public, they were still supposed to obey the rules. Right now, the rules are - not to use your quirk without a license unless it's to protect yourself, obey outside laws, and stick to the curfew. He was already on thin ice with the last fight, he couldn't risk the one chance he had to be a hero just to prove a point to this stupid girl. He had to stay, he needed to become the number one hero. If he got expelled, then that damn nerd would be the one to win, not him. He couldn't let that happen. But something was off with her. Why didn't she react? He had her by the shirt and she wasn't putting up a fight at all. Did those threats mean nothing to her? Did she think she was better than him?! He couldn't stand this any longer, he had to get away from her.

"Come near me again, I'll fucking kill you."

That was all he said before stepping out of the aisle, leaving her alone once again. She was lucky that no bystanders saw that happen, she didn't need that kind of attention, and neither did U.A. The school was already in hot water and didn't need the students giving the public a bad image. Her eyes fell downwards until they glued to the comic lying on the floor. With a deep sigh through her nose, she bent down and picked it up. Looks like trying to make amends with him was a lost cause. Since he desperately wanted her to stay away, perhaps that was the right thing to do.

Akane pulled herself together and moved on to the Art genre section of the store. She picked up a new book on the creation of graphic novels and a hard covered sketchbook to replace the ones she lost in the fire. With her arms too full to carry anything else, she paid for them and left. She had spent a little more time there than anticipated, but hopefully Yuto was still there waiting for her at the food court, saving a seat, just as he promised. At least he could shed some light on this trip.

At the food court, she scaled the tables up and down to try and find Yuto, but there were too many bodies to tell. The longer it took, the more unsettled she was getting just standing there by herself.

"Hattori?"

That sounded familiar. The green haired Midoriya appeared before her eyes with a smile, instantly relieving her nervousness.

"You meeting with the others?"

She nodded.

"I just got here. I had to stop by the novelty shop for a few things. I think the others said that they were near the soba stand." He pointed to the direction far left and walked with her following him from behind.

In an instant, the other classmates were in full view, including Yuto. His bags were set in the chair next to him, waiting for her to take its place. The moment the two of them showed up, everyone re-arranged their spots on the tables to make room for them.

Time went by as they ate together, talking about all the neat things they got. It was, in a way, kind of homely being together. Everyone in the class seemed to get along fairly well with one another, including her own, like they were family. For the first time in a while, she felt content. Hopefully later on, her mind would be at ease enough for her to get some much needed rest.