Chapter 12

The next couple of days seemed to drag on quite extensively. Classes were normal as they were every day, but when it got to the final period for training, the days just felt longer… and unusually quieter. Bakugo hardly wanted to talk at all, unless people were annoying him to the point where he told them to shut up or screw off. There was no doubt in Akane's mind that he was still salty about what happened. Even back at the dorms, he was like this, avoiding everyone as far as he could help it. Poor Kirishima was also left unanswered, and he was his so-called "friend". Just by observing him, it made her more and more curious to search and find the route of his temperament. She thought that maybe she should talk to him and try to explain herself, but then again, if he was doing his best to avoid people, he probably needed the extra space. If anything, he would more likely go off like an atomic bomb from the smallest thing right now, and she really didn't want another trip to Recovery Girl.

Meanwhile, Sato and Shishida did their part by giving her a few suggestions to help boost her quirk endurance and increase her physical strength. Before the dorm attack, she used to do her workout regimen outside during her free time, but since she's unable to do that now, they told her to just increase her weight at the dorm gym until she felt like killing over.

Both of them spoke of their time at the summer training camp with The Wild Wild Pussycats, and how they trained all day on their quirks with very little breaks. Quirks are just like muscles, when pushed to their limits, it can tear and grow back stronger than before. Despite the villain's attack, she figured that most of them wouldn't have survived if they didn't train to such an extent. It was a great idea, just like any other workout, and she was all for it.

As for their current time today, they decided it was best to show her a few pointers to test her reflexes in combat. They took her to an open clearing to take turns sparring between Sato and Shishida. Normally, Bakugo would jump right into a fight no matter what, but this time, he only sat by and watched. It was weird, but she couldn't complain. It was actually sort of nice to not have to listen to his usual grouchy self, but at the same time, that's what was so "off" about him.

When time was up for the day, she asked everyone for their evaluation notes to go over them. Sato and Shishida kindly lent them to her, but not Bakugo. Instead of handing it over, he just tossed it on the ground at her feet with that same deadly scowl on his face. The tension was abundantly clear, but it was still pretty damn annoying.

Just what the hell was his problem? Did he really take the fight that seriously? Is it that hard to just get over it?

Without a word, he left. Sato apologized on his behalf and picked up the book for her before they followed the other classmates up front. All three classes lined up at the entrance to head back with their teacher's to their specified dorms for the night. There was small talk here and there among the students, but she couldn't make the effort to pay attention to them. Her frustration kept her angry eyes glued to the back of that arrogant blonde's head, wanting ever so much to just smack the hell out of it.

Kirishima jogged through the crowd to catch up to him and try to talk, but from the looks of it, Bakugo was still giving him the cold shoulder. It was obvious that she wasn't the only one being mistreated, but that only annoyed her more. The guy was only trying to be a good friend to him. If she could guess, he probably didn't have many friends to begin with. It just didn't make sense that Midoriya said he was so popular in school before he came to U.A. How could anyone be willing to put up with his shitty attitude for more than a day? If someone had enough patience to do that, then he could at least acknowledge them. Kirishima looked to be the only real friend he had. She wasn't sure if Midoriya still felt the same way for him or not, considering how he treats him the worst out of everyone, including her.

Once they made it back to the dorm, nearly all of them left to their rooms to change out of their uniforms. Akane followed Ochako to their room to do the same and came back out wearing her dark black sweats and her favorite band shirt. Instead of drawing, she decided that she was going to use the time before dinner to go over her group's notes. Her first essay of the month will be due within the next couple of weeks and she liked to prepare.

She took her usual spot at the table and opened the books up one by one. Sato's notes looked incredibly sloppy to read, but she could make out some of the words. It looked like she needed to work on her footing and blocking during a fight, along with the extra weight training. Shishida's notes were a little bit easier to read, and he basically said the same thing, but with an additional side note for her to put more power behind her punches. And lastly, there was Bakugo's. She braced herself for the worst.

When she turned the first page, she was incredibly surprised at how neat his handwriting was. Not only that, but he practically filled every page with lots of details. The timing of her quirk use was too short, too much power into her big moves and not enough in her small moves, her speed was too slow, her footing was off, not enough impact on her attacks, not enough blocking, attacks impulsively on instinct when touched, unable to control careful attacks or blocks from behind, unable to communicate well, etc. The list just kept going until it got to where he was just insulting her as a person instead of as a hero, saying things like that she was too annoying to be around and was too weak. Aside from all the offensive comments, he actually pointed out several things that the others didn't, and that got her thinking. She expected to see a half-assed assessment, but no, he clearly paid close attention to have written this much down. It was so unexpected of him.

"Everyone, may I have your attention?!" yelled Ida throughout the entire common area.

The room fell silent as all heads turned to him.

"As Class Representative, I've successfully altered the chore log by including the additional classmates from Class C! Every person who resides in the dorm will be assigned a specific chore throughout the week to keep the place clean and functional! This will not only benefit us living here, but also bond our joined classes equally!"

It seemed like he always had to go the extra mile with everything he did, maybe it was his way of being thorough with his title as class rep. Most of everyone couldn't give a damn, except Emiri, who was just glowing with admiration. This was typical of her, since she was always attracted to the smart, passionate guys. Ida pinned the chore log onto the bulletin board, and most of them approached it to check the new changes.

When the crowd died off, Akane went for a quick look and saw her name under cooking duty for tomorrow night with Todoroki and Jiro. At least it wasn't some lame chore, like dusting or laundry. Judging from this, they had a similar way of handling things like her own class did for their dorm. The only difference was that they kept their Fridays open for free reign. That was more likely because everyone decided to go home on the weekends, even though it was allowed for them to stay on campus. Most of the 1-A students probably lived close by, if that was the case.

Every student of U.A. came from districts all over Japan. Those that didn't make it in ended up going to Shiketsu High or Ketsubutsu Academy. Unfortunately, seeing this just made it clear how everything had changed. Normally, when Tsuki was here, they would stay in the dorms over the weekends and spend their time training together and doing fun stuff, but now that she went back home to Hokkaido, nearly fifty miles away, it seemed like she would be staying here on her own. Of course, there was always the option for Akane to go home, but Mae's long work hours made it damn near impossible for her to come home and spend time with her. Her mom's fluctuated attendance over the weekends helped her decide that she might as well stay here. Either way, she would still be alone.

"Listen up!" projected the voice to be none other than Mr. Aizawa from the corner of the room. "Get everyone down here. I have an announcement that you're gonna want to hear."

Akane went back to her seat while some of the students went floor to floor to get everyone down in the lobby. When everyone was present, he continued.

"Now then… I'm here to let you all know that we will not be using the teacher escort system anymore."

"Woah! Really?!" asked Mina.

"For real?!" added Sero and many others.

"Yes, the system became flawed when we realized how much time we wasted walking students all over the school. Doing that on top of the other extra tasks we need to do has left the staff members running ragged… So yea. All students are permitted to go across campus freely. With that said, the curfew and ground rules still apply." He explained.

"Does that mean that the police finished their investigation?" asked Midoriya with his hand raised.

"They're still here, but thanks to the PSI's help keeping the grounds secure and press at bay, they have more members that can work without any distractions. I'm certain they'll be finished before too long."

"Does that also mean our dorm is going to be built back soon?" asked Yuto.

"Sorry, I don't have any knowledge of that yet."

"But what about the villains who attacked the dorm? Do they know anything about that yet?" Emiri asked.

"Actually, they're still sorting through the debris. There isn't much that they can use to get a specific lead yet. We've been ordered to keep it off limits to students for the time being. I'm sorry, but that's all I know."

Nothing was more annoying than getting a hollow answer. She wasn't sure if he was withholding the real information or not, given the current situation. Then again, her and her entire class were victims in this scenario, they were entitled to know the culprit who was behind it all. It would be odd if he was lying about this, but at the same time, it could be because he didn't want any of them to worry.

As frustrating as it was, Hattori knew that if her mom was involved that she would do everything in her power to make sure they were thorough with the investigation. That's how she always was, being the super-protective mother. If only they could've been related by blood, but that thought would mean that she would be putting her late mother out of her life. She could never want that. Dead or alive, she owed them both a lifetime debt of gratitude and honor.

Shortly after the questions stopped, the common area went back to the same usual energy. Yuto came by once again with the same bag of sour candy she forgot about yesterday and apologized to her again, promising not to be too nosy or controlling. She knew that his promises weren't always going to stay, but she understood that his heart was in the right place when he said it, so she forgave him and took the candy. Dinner was ready about a half hour later, which brought everyone crowding around the kitchen area.

Among the classmates, her eyes were drawn to Bakugo's immediately with an instant glare between them. Just seeing him there brought back all the negativity she had been bottling up over the last few days. What was his problem? Why was he like this? It was starting to dry up any sympathy she had left for him.

Question after question came crawling inside her head of all the possibilities of how a person could be so cold-natured. She wanted to go up to him directly and demand an answer, but taking everyone else into account, it would definitely spring up more rumors. Knowing him, it would probably lead to another fight that would have to be stopped by the classmates, or worse, by Aizawa. Just because the escort system was lifted didn't mean that they couldn't still get in trouble for acting out irrationally. He wasn't going to be the one to get her expelled, and she could definitely say the same for him, since he was already on probation. Akane thought it over and concluded that the only way for her to figure him out was to either get him alone to talk, or ask everyone else about him. Since he was avoiding people, getting him alone seemed unlikely, so that just left the one option.

Just then, she got an idea. Taking a blank sheet of paper from her notebook, she wrote down her cell phone number over and over along with her name. She ripped it apart to fold several notes and gathered them all up. She wouldn't normally do this sort of thing, but she couldn't go through every day with that dickhead without some kind of understanding. Working up all her courage, she walked over to Midoriya who was having a conversation on the couch with Ida and Shoji. The moment she was inches away, all three of their heads turned to her.

"Oh hey, Hattori." He spoke with a soft, friendly smile. She handed out one of the notes for him to take. "What's this?"

"It's my phone number…"

"W-what?!" he quietly exclaimed, feeling the heat rush over him with excitement. The look on his face gave it away.

Oh, great… He thought it was some kind of confession.

"It's not like that… I have a few questions about your friend." She explained calmly.

Relief washed over him until he finally relaxed enough to pay attention.

"My friend?"

She nodded, but he was still confused as to who she was talking about.

"Please text me later, so we can talk. Also, please make sure to say your name in it, so I can save it in my contacts…"

"O-okay."

With that said, she walked off, leaving him and the others just as dumbstruck. She glanced around the room, looking for the spiky young red-head, but couldn't find him in the common area. She checked the kitchen before heading out into the hallway. Once the elevator chimed, the doors opened and he stepped out, walking next to Sero, Tsu, and Todoroki. Once he spotted her in the hallway, he smiled and waved to her.

"Hey, Hattori!"

She stood off to the side and gestured for him to come over. He nodded off to his friends, saying that he would catch up to them later and approached her. Oddly, his smile brought a warm feeling in her chest, a feeling that she hadn't had in a long time. Maybe he just had that kind of impression on people, so friendly all the time. It just made her question his relationship to Bakugo. How could someone as positive as him want to be around someone as harsh as Bakugo? But that's why she was there. She held out one of the notes for him to take.

"What's this?" he asked.

"My number."

"Woah, really? Honestly, I was thinking about asking you last time, but I guess I got too nervous." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly after he took it.

"What do you mean?"

"It's nothing. Just really happy to have it."

"Listen, I'm actually giving it because I have some questions about Bakugo that I wanted to ask you, but it's not that I don't want to be friends… If you had asked the other day, I would've gave it to you." She explained quietly.

"Why? Something wrong with Bakugo?"

"I guess you could say that… I don't really know. You say that he's always been like this? So forceful and cruel…"

"Yea, that's our Bakugo."

"Then why are you still friends with him?"

Kirishima paused for a moment. He didn't really expect her to ask about it like that, but what the heck? He got to talk to her, like he wanted, right?

"Well, it wasn't easy at first. When I met him, he pretty much treated me the same as every other classmate, like I was a pest or someone he would easily surpass. In a way, I wanted to figure him out, just like you. If there's one thing I know, it's that everyone's different. You can't tell a person's story from just the cover, so I got to know him at his own pace. Believe me, he did his best to keep me away, but even still, that was something I just had to accept about him. He is the way he is, so it didn't bother me that he was so resistant. We went through a lot together coming to U.A. and in that timespan, he slowly started to acknowledge me, our classmates, and their quirks. He may seem like he doesn't care, but he really pays close attention to others. It looks like he's pushing them around, but I like to think that it's his own way of helping them out. And believe it or not, he helped me out many times. He's really not all bad. I'm glad to be friends with him."

Akane thought back to his notes in the evaluation book and then again to his behavior during training. It didn't make any sense. If he cared, wouldn't he be participating with the group just a little bit? There was one other thing she needed to rule out first before she could be absolutely sure he meant those words. It wasn't an easy question to ask, but…

"You speak so highly of him… Do you like him?" He blinked as if he didn't register what she said, until it hit him. She could feel the awkward embarrassment wash over his face from asking that.

"No-no! It's not like that. I just respect him, that's all."

He waved his hands in front of him, getting all defensive. For once, Akane couldn't exactly tell if he was lying or not. The gesture was a sign for a lie, but his face and tone said otherwise. Maybe he did love him, but in a way that doesn't go beyond friendship. Regardless, he did care for Bakugo.

"I see… Sorry for asking." She said,

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." He paused. "Hey, can I ask why you're asking me that? Is he still giving you a hard time?"

"He hasn't said a word, but for the most part, yea… I just want to understand him."

"Have you talked to him?"

"I figured it would be best to talk to you… From the looks of it, it seems that he won't even talk to you much these days." She explained.

"Well, I thought he needed time to blow off some steam, but now that you mention it, yea, he has been pretty distant lately. When I ask him about it, he kind of avoids it by changing the subject." He said, looking down at the floor. It just wasn't like him to be this way and for so long.

"Could it be because I'm the first girl he's ever fought?"

"No, you're not the first. He's actually gone against Uraraka, the teachers, and I'm sure he's fought a few female villains before, so it's not that you're a girl. It's something else."

"Did I really hurt him that bad?..."

"His pride maybe, but definitely not physically."

"What do you mean his pride? I told you that he won the fight." She addressed.

"I don't think he sees it that way."

"Then what-"

"Hey, idiot!" A voice interrupted her from the end of the hallway.

They were so caught up in their conversation that they didn't even hear the elevator door open. Their hearts dropped at the sudden sight of Bakugo making his way over to them. Shit! Did he hear what they were saying just now? His chilling glare left them frozen, but not very long for Kirishima. He quickly put on a smile and relaxed his stance, trying to play it off as if nothing happened, that they weren't gossiping about him. Hopefully, it will pay off.

"Hey, Bakugo! You finally decided to come out of your room?"

Bakugo ignored him and focused his eyes on the short bitch standing next to him. He let out a frustrating growl at the sight of her.

"You… I wanna talk to you!"

Kirishima took a step in between them and nonchalantly held out his arms. "Cool, let's head to the gym and we can talk."

"Not you, Shitty-hair!" he pointed directly over his shoulder. "Her!"

Kirishima tried his best to be the buffer, but it wasn't enough to stop him from pushing through. "Hey, c'mon. If there's a problem, you know you can talk to me."

"This doesn't concern you, so get the hell away from me before I kill you!"

Before they both knew it, Bakugo grabbed Akane by the arm and forcefully pulled her to the emergency exit offside the doorway to the common area. He didn't want anyone to be around to pry in his business, or stop him when he decided to let her have it. Akane felt herself a bit panicked just then. Whether he heard them talking or not, his menacing energy still remained, leaving her with no choice, but to dread for the worst. Once they were outside in the cold night air, he dragged her to what he assumed was a safe spot and turned to her, his firm hand squeezing tightly to her arm.

"We should be fine here."

The tension of his grip started to become painful.

"Please, let go of me…" she said.

Looking down, he hadn't realized that he was still holding onto her. If it was anyone else, he would've let go, but he had an unsettled grudge with this chick. His anger overflowed within him, making him compress her roughly to the point where he could see the cringe in her eyes. He yanked her to look into his eyes.

"You… I want to know what you're trying to pull, dragging me into all this shit. Just what the hell are you trying to do, huh? I don't fucking get it." He said with a snarl.

With a quiet sigh through her nose, she tried to relax herself, even though she was reaching her limit of patience. Calmly, she placed a hand on his wrist.

"I'm getting really annoyed with you grabbing me like this. If you wanted to talk, you could've just said so… Don't make me ask again. Now let go of me…"

He smirked at her feistiness.

"Or what? What the hell is a short little fuck like you gonna do, huh?"

Without hesitation, she forced the red strength to her hand and clenched down hard on his wrist. He let out a painful yelp as he heard it pop, and was forced to let his fingers release. She still held him strong, which only infuriated him more.

"You bitch!" he growled.

"I told you twice… If you don't want me to break it, I suggest you keep your hands to yourself…"

She deactivated her quirk and pushed his arm away.

"Tch. You're gonna regret that!" He yelled while massaging his wrist.

Internally, she rolled her eyes at him.

"Did you bring me here just to start another fight, or did you want to talk?"

"Shut up! Ever since that fight at the gym, I've been thinking about it a lot. Every single time, it just pisses me off more. The way you reacted like that when Sparkplug touched you wasn't fucking normal. You did the same thing with the dummy during the maze runner, and again when we fought at training. To have such strength and to be able to use it like that… but then you held me back. Why the hell didn't you use that?! Why didn't you fight back?!"

So Kirishima was right, after all.

"There was no point to it."

"What?! What the hell do you mean there's no point to it?! It's not a real battle if you don't go all out! That wasn't a real victory for me! I can't accept that!" he exclaimed.

"Then what happened at the gym wasn't a real fight either…"

He grit his teeth to keep himself from setting off like an atomic bomb.

"Why?... What the fuck are you trying to pull?!"

"I'm not pulling anything." She answered.

"Then why the hell did you let me win?! And why did you go so far as to cover it up to Aizawa, knowing that we could both get expelled for that?! And then to pretend like you give a damn when everyone in class won't shut up about that cheap trick you used to knock me out cold…"

"You want to know the truth?"

"We wouldn't be out here if I didn't, you dumbass!"

"I guess I'll start off by saying that my quirk is extremely unstable, just as any other person would be when thinking back to something stressful. I'm not gonna waste my time explaining my whole back story to you, since you already know I don't like to be touched. The gym incident, training, things like that happen every time someone tries to touch me. I can somewhat control it when I'm facing the person, but not so much from behind… I keep myself away from everyone, so that I don't end up hurting anyone, but shit happens. I don't know how to stop it from happening… To answer your question, I took the blame because I overheard that Aizawa was threatening to expel you for trying to fight me in the gym. I haven't broken any rules yet, so I figured we'd get off the hook if I took the blame."

"But why did you do it? Why take the blame and apologize for what I did to you?" he asked.

"You were just standing up for your classmates, so I don't take offense to that. I did wrong and I'm here to find a way to control it. You shouldn't be the one responsible for that… So I gave you the fight you wanted."

"But you let me win…"

"You would've won either way. I just stopped before it got too far out of hand."

"The fuck do you mean? You're not making any sense. You know damn well I did what I did because I wanted to obliterate you from the Earth. What, you got a death wish or something?" he asked.

"I knew what you were doing…"

"Then why?"

"In truth, you remind me of someone I want to destroy… Everything about you reminds me of him, how you carry yourself, the way you talk, even the way you look… But in order to do that, I need to become stronger. I ended the fight because I knew you would win no matter what I did. We're obviously not on the same level, you made that clear in your evaluation notes… And you were the tournament's last year winner and you're in the top ten of your class, which tells me that I can still learn from you. I don't exactly know why the teachers put us in the same group, but they definitely did that for a reason. I want to find out what… As much as you annoy the fuck out of me, I want to work with you. If you're not satisfied with the last fight, we'll do it again, but before then, I need to be on the same level as you." She explained.

"There's no way that you'll be able to reach my level. Even if you waste your whole life working your ass off, you'll never come close to where I am now. A pathetic piece of shit like you should just give up now."

"If you really think that, then why make such an effort in the evaluation notes?"

"?!"

"You wrote so much more details than Sato and Shishida together. You obviously see where I can improve. If I should give up now, then why waste the effort on this assignment?" she asked.

"I don't give a damn about the grade."

"I highly doubt that from one of the top ten students of class 1-A… And with those glasses you wear, I'm actually surprised you have the audacity to call everyone else a nerd…"

"Why you little-?" he felt the embarrassment crawl back inside him. He had completely forgotten that she saw him like that. Dammit! And now she's calling him a nerd!

"I don't understand why you feel the need to turn against them for something like that… It's so petty."

"Don't go spewing that crap around school, got it?! You say anything and I'll rip your jaw off!" he yelled.

She sighed. "Fine. It's not a big deal, though. If anything, it makes you look smarter…"

"You trying to say I'm a moron?!"

"No."

"Look, I'm not into handouts like that, so don't go doing that shit again. If you're gonna fight me, do it for real. And don't go getting into other people's shit from now on. What Aizawa says is between me and him, no one else! You got that?!"

"You could just say thank you for saving my ass, Hattori…" she mocked with a sly curl on her lips.

"Like Hell, I would do something that stupid!"

"Whatever… Have it your way. You don't want to train me, that's fine. I'm not gonna force you. Just remember that if you really want to fight me again for real, I need you to help me get stronger. Only then will I have a real chance of defeating you, and him…"

"You sure do talk big for such a short little squirt. Fat chance of that ever happening." He stated.

With a shrug, she put her now freezing hands into her pants pocket and started to walk off.

"Sit on it for a couple days, and give me an answer then. After that, if you still say no, I'll ask Midnight to put us in another group, so we don't have to see each other…"

"Don't get your hopes up, short-stuff."

Once that was said, she opened the door and went back inside, leaving Bakugo all alone in the cold.