Chapter 24

"Hattori, you're next!"

From the small gathering of students, she pushed forth to the nearest exit and went down the stairs to the lower level of Ground Beta. Once she made it to the main door, Yashi groggily stumbled through holding onto whatever he could to keep himself standing. There was no doubt that it was from the lingering symptoms of Midnight's quirk. It always affected the boys more than the girls.

They exchanged pitiful looks before she silently moved past him and went outside to face her teacher. The details of the test were that a villain has kidnapped a small baby and has hidden them somewhere on Ground Beta. Midnight was designated to play the villain, but there was no telling who was to play the child. Maybe they hired another actor to be in the skit for the test or got a student to do it. Who knows? Not only that, but there were several traps and bombs scattered around the grounds, and an even bigger stockpile of explosives that they planned to use to wipe out the area. They gave a hint that the victim was most likely kept in the same location as the weapons, which could only mean that it's somewhere secluded. Her objective was to find the child and explosives before the villain could set them off. This was going to be difficult to do solo, but since they had so few students in the class and had been training for almost a month with the top hero students, it seemed like a good opportunity to test them.

Akane walked through the very center of Ground Beta and waited.

"Alright, let's get this party started! Beta test begins now!" yelled Present Mic through the intercom.

Without a moment to spare, she activated her red strength, crouched to the ground to gain momentum, and leaped high into the air. The icy wind blew through her hair as her feet landed on top of a large scale building. She had been secretly practicing these jump techniques ever since she fought Bakugo. He was able to use his quirk to be airborne and still hit the target dead on just as well as when he was on the ground, and he always managed to dodge attacks that way too. Watching that got her wondering if she could do something similar with her own power. She had jumped pretty high during the maze runner, but now she was able to leap over hundred-foot-tall buildings.

Once again, she crouched down and same as before, she made it up to the next highest building, and then the next, going all the way up to the very peak. Since the grounds were created to simulate an urban city area, she figured the best way to find trouble quickly was to go up and get a bird's eye view. She turned a full 360 degrees, keeping her eyes strained for any sign of the enemy or any explosions. With no luck, there didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary yet.

Now, she had to think. If a villain was gathering up explosives, they'd want it to be in the most secure place, a place where even a hero wouldn't think to look to stop them. The same would go for the victim they kidnapped, so there was no mistaking that they would both be in the same location. She just had to find out where. There were bombs planted all around the city, and if she were to set them off, it would do a considerable amount of damage if she wasn't careful. This had to be thought out perfectly.

'If I were a villain... I'd put a few bombs scattered away from my stockpile as a warning not to go near it and as a last line of defense. Maybe if I looked around for a few without setting them off, I'd be able to find the treasure hoard.' she thought.

Then again, this test was timed. She needed to move fast.

Hattori took a few steps until the toes of her boots hung over the edge of the rooftop. From there, she readily dropped down and braced her body before it hit the pavement. With a tuck and roll, she dusted herself off and broke out in a sprint down the main roads. One turn after another, there wasn't anything but empty open roads and perfectly sound buildings. It was still quiet, too quiet.

She took another right turn down a narrow alley and that's when she stopped still in her tracks. Out of the entire ordinary scene of roads, newspaper boxes, and vending machines, she noticed something that stood out. Underneath a regular metal street lamp was a trash can, but not that of a typical color. Of all the cans she passed by, none of them were painted red. This one wasn't even a mesh basket, it was completely sheeted in metal too. That was a red flag. She remembered watching her classmates on the big monitor in Beta's security room with the others, and she didn't notice it then, like she did now. Every explosion that occurred, they had come passed by one of these painted cans. How did they not figure that out yet?

Slowly, she approached the can, being extra cautious not to let her weight shake the ground in case it was trigger sensitive. She placed her hand on the lid and sucked in a breath. Gently, she lifted the lid. Inside there was a mound of garbage and nestled right in the middle on top of it was a blinking time bomb. It counted backwards from 15... 14... 13... 12... Shit!

Quickly, she slammed the lid back on and yanked the can off the sidewalk. With all her might, she ran to the center of the nearest intersection with the most space and chucked it into the air. The can flew high above the buildings and then it combusted into a massive ball of fire. Pieces of metal and garbage fell from the sky as the gray clouds darkened from the smoke. She let out the breath she had held in. That was a close call, but at least her theory was correct. Now where was the next one?

As swiftly as possible she ran up and down the back alleys until she came across another colored trash can. She didn't even think before she snatched it up and threw it into the air. This one sadly got too close to the ground before it went off, leaving parts of the pavement ruptured from the impact. This could only mean that the times were set differently per can. Maybe she could just remove all the bombs and gather them up until it was time to toss them. It was a dangerous move, but it was better than having them go off near actual people on the streets. Of course, if this was a real scenario, she would have ordered for an immediate evacuation so she wouldn't have to worry about that. Then again, this was only a practice run, there weren't any real people involved except her, Midnight, and whoever the victim was, but you had to treat it as if it were still a real situation.

Akane ran back down the road where she last found the bomb and kept on going. Before long, she came across another, and then another, each one she took out the explosive and threw over the can. By doing that, she would know which ones she touched and which ones were still ticking. She listened very carefully as the numbers counted down. Once it got to zero there was an alarming series of beeping before it combusted, which cued her to throw it as high as she could in the air, safe from the streets. It was dangerous, and she knew it could count against her, but it was the only thing she could think of. These bombs didn't come with a disarming button, like they did in the maze runner.

As she swept the area, she started to notice a pattern. The main highways had very few red cans compared to the back alleys, which was rather unusual. If the villain intended to scatter bombs across the city, why not put them in those areas, where most people would gather? Why was it only the small narrow streets? Very few people would be affected. If the villain wanted to scare the public, that would've been the most effective route to do so, but something wasn't adding up. She could feel it.

Akane went with her gut and continued to follow the bombs. She rounded the corner, which took her to a much wider road, and that's where she found it. It was a minefield. Both sides of the street had red cans, each one with only a five meter gap in between and it went all the way down to the end. The sheer amount of it made her curse inside her head, wanting to reassess the situation, but too stressed of the time to do so.

On instinct, her feet moved on their own to the closest trash can. She jerked the lid off with one hand and yanked out the bomb with the other. Her body froze with astonishment when she gazed down at the timer. It was still set to thirty seconds and hadn't gone off yet. Holy shit! Maybe it was the same for the rest of them! She glanced back to the other cans and grunted. That was too much for her to carry with just her two arms.

Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. Carefully, she put down the bomb, took the waste basket, and turned it over so all the contents could spill out. Once it was empty, she tossed the explosive back inside and carried it to the next one. If she could fill this entire bin with them all, she could dispose of them at one time and be done with it. It was the perfect plan, though it was setting her back from finding the enemy.

As she continued to capture and contain, something started to draw her attention. A smell. The aroma was sweet, like vanilla and cherry and it only continued to get stronger. It was definitely not her, since she never took part in wearing perfume and her deodorant wasn't nearly this strong. It didn't even smell the same. So what was it?

It didn't take long before she noticed that the air had become unusually foggy. That's when it hit her. Midnight was close by. She must be getting close to the hideout and found her snooping around. Hattori immediately looked back inside the can. The bombs still didn't start the countdown, so she decided to utilize this spare time to look around for the enemy. The gas thickened with the pink alluring aroma, which was surprisingly beginning to feel a bit soothing to her. Shit! That's not good! Midnight's quirk was more effective with guys, but that didn't mean it wouldn't work on girls. If it was making her calm now, it wouldn't be long before she would collapse, like the rest of her classmates. She needed to find a way to stop breathing it in, but she couldn't hold her breath forever. She still had no idea where she was yet. Shit!

Looking around, she tried to find something, anything that she could use as a temporary mask. Her own costume would have sufficed, but most of it was made out of leather-like material, too dense to filter the air. This would be one of the few times where she would reconsider having a hero cape added to her costume, but right now, she doesn't have one. And just then, her eyes were drawn back to the pile of garbage she dumped out on the sidewalk. There was a swaddle of cloth balled up within it and she immediately ran for it. It didn't matter if it was sitting in trash or covered with all kinds of gross germs, she needed it if she was going to pass this test.

As soon as she placed it over her nose, she caught a whiff of the foul odor. The instant regret made her face cringe with disgust. So filthy, but it did as she wanted. She could feel her body losing the effects of the gas, eventually reverting her back to normal. The air continued to thicken until Akane could no longer see an inch in front of her own nose. From the looks of it, it would seem she didn't need to go hunting for Midnight after all.

"My, my... what impeccable strategizing! You've really grown into your figure, Hattori!"

She focused her ears to follow her trajectory and there was no doubt that she was directly in front of her. She could hear the clicking of her boots against the pavement coming towards her and the cracking of her whip following with it. Now, she had to make a decision. If the timers didn't go off yet, she could only assume that Midnight still had the trigger to do so. With the intensity of the fog, it would be difficult to find her and foolish to wander blindly into her trap, but the cloud would follow her wherever she went. And Midnight was a pro-hero, which means that even if Akane resorted to waiting for her to use up all of her quirk, that could take a while. That wouldn't be smart considering she only had ten minutes left in the test. If only she had a wind manipulation quirk or extended limbs or something. She wanted to be a hero, so she had to work with what she got, what she was born with.

"But even with your careful planning, there's no way I'll let you get past me... not without a good lashing!" she chuckled deviantly.

The sounds were getting closer. Akane didn't have time to think anymore, and if she pushed the trigger, there wouldn't be any time to act. She had to face her now. Without a word, she released her quirk to change back to her normal human stature. At full red strength, it's possible for others to feel her movement, even on something as solid as concrete and even if she was sneaking around. Now that she was smaller, she took away that advantage and walked right into Midnight's trap.

Suddenly, there was a slight whistle in the air and the tail of the black whip came right before her eyes. Hattori quickly held her arm out to block, allowing the leather to snap hard across her skin. She bit her tongue hard to keep from crying out in pain as she circled her arm around it, keeping it in place. She gripped down and yanked the whip hard, which forced Midnight to stumble across the ground and release it.

With her main weapon gone, now it was only her. She could outmatch her with strength, no question, but she was a Pro who had a lot of experience under her belt. Who knows what kind of quick trick she could pull next? Akane tucked the whip handle to the back of her belt. There was no way she was going to give her the chance to get her weapon back. It could still slow her down. Confidently, she marched into the direction from which it came. Even if she had to walk through all this smoke, she'll find her.

"You didn't assume that was my only weapon, now did you?" she asked, making Akane halt in her tracks.

Just like that, the pink, rosy gas started to dissipate in the air, revealing her own teacher standing in front of her, holding the detonator that oddly looked like a tv remote.

"Be careful now. If you take one more step, I'll send this entire city into a crater."

"If that's true, then why didn't you place the bombs in the high traffic areas?" She muffled through her make-shift mask.

"!"

"These red cans, it's all leading up to one place, that building down there. The Police Station, where I assume the child you've kidnapped is also held hostage..." Akane pointed.

"Pretty clever." she smiled at her student. "But how are you so sure the child is there?"

With the air now clear, she removed the smelly cloth from her face.

"You're holding them for ransom."

"Oh?"

"Or revenge... I can't see any good reason for going to such lengths. To go so far as to plant this many bombs, putting the security of the people at risk, and taking a child away from its family. That's pretty low..."

"Then perhaps the enemy isn't me."

Akane was even more confused. "What?"

The edges of Midnight's lips curled deeper as she turned her body to the side. It didn't occur to her until now that she was wearing a harness over her shoulders, a baby harness, holding the plastic kidnapped child on her back. What the hell? That didn't show up in the other tests from her other classmates beforehand. What's going on?

"Are you saying that it's your child?"

"When you've had your most precious treasure stolen from you, how do you think it would make you feel? Hurt? Betrayed? Especially by the ones you believed were sworn to protect you... My child was taken from me because I had issues controlling my quirk. I did my best to manage it because of the law against people using quirks out in public, so I kept it all in. I could only let out my sleeping gas at home, and suppressing it for so long only made me build it up excessively. I kept putting every condo on my floor to sleep, and some people while they were doing very meticulous things that left them in danger. Because of that, I was evicted and they put my son in foster care where he could be safe, but how could I go on with no home and no family? How could anyone live like that? They took him away for reasons I couldn't help!"

Her eyes became misty, truly fitting in with her scripted, dramatic role.

"I couldn't let them do that! So I devised a plan to take him back and make the justice system pay!... But what are you going to do, hero? To fight me would mean putting not only my innocent child in danger, but everyone else in the city, including you."

Her back was up against the wall this time. If she did nothing, Midnight would blow up the city, but if she fought, it could mean putting her child at risk. Her quirk was much too powerful for that, and it looked like just words wouldn't be able to cut it. Midnight's thumb was inching closer to the button. How could she handle this?

"I agree with you."

"?!"

"They should've offered to help you manage and control your quirk instead of doing something so awful. No mother deserves to be taken from their child... I don't want to fight you, but I can't allow you to harm others. Please, rethink what you're doing and put the trigger down." Akane's eyes were serious, but Midnight was unfazed. Was this all she could think of to do?

"Sorry, hero. I've already gone this far, I can't back down now. I'm in too deep, so I might as well see it through."

She held out the remote, ready to push the button when - SNAP! Midnight's arm was caught. Her eyes followed up from her wrist to Akane restraining her with her own leather whip. Clever little girl... She shakily fought against Hattori to let her go, but was failing due to her unmeasured strength. Without a second thought, Akane yanked the whip back, which forced her to drop the trigger to the ground.

"It's over for you, Midnight..."

She turned to her student with a pleased smile. "What a daring, dominant move, Hattori... I love it! You pass!"

A few hours later, class had ended and it was now time for the group training to begin, so she made her way over to Gym Gamma. After passing the monthly training test and receiving a good grade on her essay, she was so ecstatic that she couldn't wait to tell the boys. It's only been a month and she was showing incredible results. It was all thanks to them.

As she walked along the snowy path, she thought about her group mates, wondering if she should thank them properly by getting them a gift. Classes were to be canceled tomorrow for the dorms to enjoy their Christmas party, so now would be the perfect time to get them something for all their hard work putting up with her. She definitely made training difficult for them, but even still, they didn't give up on her and she didn't want that to go unacknowledged. But what should she get them?

Sato of course was a passionate baker. His treats and cakes were always so delicious, especially when he paired it with Momo's top quality tea. Maybe she could find a top-notch bakery nearby and buy him something good, or better yet, she could make something. Then again, she wasn't exactly a sweet tooth or a pro-baker, and with his refined palette, it probably wouldn't be any good. Shishida on the other hand was a bit of a mystery. He didn't really talk about the things he liked, but it's not like she asked about it either. Maybe she could get him a nice cologne or conditioner for all that hair? But then he might take it offensively, like she thinks he smells bad or needs to work on his hygiene. That wouldn't be nice. Maybe something that would pass as a decent gift for anyone, like a gift card...

And then there's Bakugo, who was just as conservative as she was. Though he always voiced his opinions openly and loudly, he was pretty closed in. She didn't know much about him except from what she uncovered from the game and their time together in the city. He liked spicy food, read manga, and was a killer game player. There were plenty of options to go down, but somehow it didn't feel like it was enough. He did a lot for her, even outside training. That time when he showed her how to play the claw game at the arcade, when he bandaged her injured hands, bought her that hot chocolate after trying to warm up her hands with his quirk, and so on... there were so many things. He didn't have to do any of them, and yet...

A rush of emotions hurled through her chest, making her heart thump so hard and fast that she could almost hear it echoing to her ears. The sudden intensity made her stop walking to hold a hand to her chest. She was barely touching through her shirt, but she could still feel it pounding. Akane knew what this feeling was... she had it before. Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh that turned into a groan.

"Shit..." she whispered.

"Hattori, you doing okay?" asked an unfamiliar voice that almost made her jump.

"Y-yes!"

She turned and was united with his concerned two-colored eyes. Oh God, did he hear her just now?

"I didn't see you there, Todoroki."

"Did I startle you?"

"A little..." She couldn't lie, at least not very well.

"Your face is pretty red. Are you getting sick?" He asked, reaching to place a hand on top of her head.

His touch only aggravated her anxiety more, but she fought the urge to smack him away. He was only trying to be considerate.

"You feel a little warm."

Unable to take it, she took a couple steps back and tried to take a deep breath to calm herself down. If she didn't, he might know something's up.

"I'm fine, really... It's probably just the cold."

Todoroki stood still for a moment before his hand fell back to his side. He still looked concerned, but she hoped that he wouldn't look far into it to tell what was really going on.

"Then we should get back to the dorms."

"But isn't it 3rd period? Training time?" she asked, making sure he didn't forget.

"All three classes had tests today, with many students sent to Recovery Girl's office, so the teachers decided to cancel training for today."

Well that sucked. Even still, she knew that wouldn't stop Bakugo from wanting to blow her ass up. They could still get their workout in. If anything, he'd find every opportunity to do so. Canceled would be more or less of a suggestion not to, and he wasn't good at listening. She could at least ask about it.

"So everyone's going back to the dorms?" she clarified.

"Yea, we should head back."

If that's where they were, then she might as well meet them there. Maybe if she was lucky, the hothead would finally give her a day off and let her relax. Then maybe the class could play another fun game, like before. That would be nice. At least she could use the spare time to come up with her gift ideas. Together, they trudged through the snowy sidewalks until they made it back to the dorms, where several other students had just arrived. Some of them were patched up with bandages, but a majority of them looked rough and tired. As she walked, her eyes scanned across their faces to find Bakugo and Sato.

Once she made it into the lounge, she immediately found Sato sprawled out on the couch, too exhausted to move, but still no sign of Bakugo. She hoped he wasn't back in Recovery Girl's office. That would only leave him in a bitchy attitude for the rest of the night, which would suck for anyone who got within his socio-path. After waving goodbye to Todoroki for walking with her, she approached her group mate.

"You okay?"

He turned and immediately straightened himself up. "Uh- yea, I'm okay. Just a little sore from this morning."

"I know training is canceled, but if you still want me to, I can do my reps upstairs in the gym. You guys don't have to spar with me, you can sit and watch." she offered.

"You don't have to do that. I think we all need a good break after today."

"Alright... Actually, I wanted to say that because of you three, I passed my test. The training you guys are putting me through is really starting to pay off. I wanted to say thanks for that." she smiled.

Sato's face turned red with embarrassment as he went to rub the back of his neck.

"Don't mention it."

"I know I haven't been easy to work with... but I promise I'll do better."

"That's good to hear." he paused for a moment and spoke again "I'm sorry, but I'm just too tired to help you train today. If you really need someone to take notes on you or spar, Bakugo might help, although..."

"Although what?" she asked curiously.

"He's not in the best mood right now. He passed his test against Aizawa, but barely. I guess it kinda hit him pretty hard how close he got to failing, and he's been real testy ever since. Then again, failure's never really something he accepts well. So just be careful when you talk to him, okay?"

She nodded. "Do you know where he is?"

"I heard that he was up in the gym with Kirishima, but if not, he's probably in his room."

"Okay, thanks Sato."

After that was said, she went through the lounge over to the elevators and pushed the button. Once it dinged open, a few classmates stepped out and she took their place. She pushed the button to go up and the doors shut. When she made it to the right floor, the doors slid open and she stepped out to see Kirishima already coming towards her. The look of frustration was plastered on his face, which was instantly a red flag. Kirishima almost never let himself get mad, no matter how bad things got he always stayed so positive. Whatever was going on couldn't be good.

The moment their eyes met, his complexion changed to relief, as if he was grateful to have her here. What a total 180.

"Hey, you come to hang out with me?" he smiled.

"Actually, I wanted to ask Bakugo something... Is everything okay?"

There was a loud piercing scream followed by a series of explosions. The air became smoky as they both looked back to Bakugo. His body trembled as his hands continued to pop off like firecrackers. Some of the equipment around him had been turned over, but at least nothing appeared to be broken. That bad, huh? It was almost like looking at a reflection of her former self. She knew she had to be careful around him. If he was going to be violent, there's a chance that she would succumb to her own frustrations and turn red too. She didn't want that... but was he seriously getting all worked up over a fucking test? That didn't seem right. There had to be something else.

"Yea, he's just uhhh... Maybe you should talk to him after he cools off."

"Well, I was gonna ask if he wanted to spar... but..." she started, but trailed off as she peeked over his shoulder again. Seeing him like that made her heart drop.

"Yea, he gets like this sometimes. He passed his test earlier, so I don't know what he's gotta be so upset about." Kirishima explained.

"Sato said he was really close to failing. Does failing always hit him this hard?"

"Yea, it does. But he's been a little on edge today, ever since this morning. Maybe he slept on the wrong side of the bed or something, I don't know. I tried to ask him about it, but he ignored me and went over to the grab bar. He was adjusting the weight on it, but something didn't hook up right and he got annoyed and... I guess he snapped."

She nodded. "I'll give him a minute and try to talk to him..."

"You sure? I mean-"

"I've been through dangerous territory before... I'll be okay." she assured him with a half smile.

"Well, if it doesn't work, I got a whole bunch of spicy snacks yesterday. Maybe some food will cheer him up. You gonna be okay with him by yourself?" Kirishima asked, still unsure of this being a good idea.

She took another glance back to Bakugo. He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned back against the wall before sliding down to the floor. He hadn't noticed her yet, or was too distraught to care. Whatever was going on, it bothered her to see him this way.

"Yea. Thanks for looking out for me."

"Well alright. I'll be back in a minute."

And just as he said, he went to the elevator and left them alone. Akane took in a deep breath to brace herself before walking across the room. She stumbled over the fallen equipment, but managed to pick herself up until she stood right in front of him. His face was locked to the floor as if he was trying to find some way to relax by staring at it. She knew that feeling all too well. She dropped her backpack strap from her shoulder to place it on the ground and knelt down in front of him.

"Hey? Bakugo?"

His head snapped up, surprised that she was right there. Shortly, his brow dropped into a death glare.

"What're you doing here?!" he snarled.

"Are you alright?"

She went to reach out for his arm, but he smacked her away with an explosion.

"I'm fucking fine! Just get outta my damn face!"

The instant burn sunk through her skin. Dammit that hurt! She tried to wave it in the air to cool it down, but it still lingered. As unnecessary as that was, she made herself put aside her anger to focus on him.

"I'm here because I wanted to talk to you, but you're clearly upset. What's wrong?"

"I SAID I'M FINE!"

"If you're gonna lie, you should try to make it more convincing. No one has ever said 'I'm fine' and meant it."

His palms continued to set off little explosions as he let out another annoyed groan. His fingers ran through his hair again, pulling on the strands to find some temporary relief. Even though his head hurt like a bitch from stressing so much, the small explosions felt a little soothing. That wasn't enough to calm him down though. Why the hell was she here?

"Can't you see that I don't want you around me?! I don't want anyone around me! You all are so fucking stupid, do I have to spell it out for you?! I don't have time to deal with all your bullshit!" he yelled angrily. He was about to reach his breaking point and he'd be damned if he let anyone see that side of him. He couldn't let them know he was weak. Not now, not ever.

At that moment, Akane remembered a small note she came across when she read her psychology book. It was in the developmental chapter of psychology, about children and their developmental growth to adults. They could be feeling insecure, afraid, depressed, or anything that they don't want others to see, and because they don't have any experience with different relationships, they never fully understand how to handle their own emotions. Some children who've endured bad experiences might lash out to keep others at arm's length, so they don't form any new relationships and run the risk of getting hurt. That's exactly what she had done all her life... and that's what he was doing right now. There's only one solution to helping a child like that.

"... You're such a bad liar..."

Bakugo's eyes narrowed to her hatefully. "What did you-?"

He was cut off at the feeling of her arms wrapped around his body. Her chest pressed against his own as his face became buried under her scarlet hair. The faint scent of her cherry blossom shampoo still lingered in her hair, which he found surprisingly soothing.

Bakugo stiffened his body, completely unsure of what she was trying to do. What is this? This feeling? She feels so warm, as if everything he had just been upset about wasn't important anymore. Subconsciously, his arms went to hold her, but he then realized what he was doing and stopped himself. He balled his hands into a fist to fight the urge to give in and just allowed her to hold him.

After a moment or two, she gently pulled away from him to look into his red eyes.

"There."

She gave him a half smile, and he felt his chest contract.

"W-what the hell was that for?" he asked.

"You looked like you needed one... Feel a little better now?"

Still confused, he was at a loss for words. She was still incredibly close. She soon came to see that and leaned back a bit further to give them some space.

"... Do you wanna talk about it?"

Bakugo then remembered what he was so worked up about. He hadn't been getting much sleep lately and it was starting to get in the way of his hero work. Watching his classmates, especially Deku, somehow pass their tests and leaving him behind to pass by a hair - it worked him up and he let his anger get the best of him. Still, no matter how bad his own problems were, it wasn't anyone's business to pry. He could take care of himself. He didn't need anyone. Not even her!

"Fuck no..."

"Okay then."

With a shrug she stood up straight and walked over to the equipment to pick them up. It was weird that she didn't try to bother him with more questions, like Kirishima. He wouldn't have let up for the rest of the day. But why was she cleaning up his mess?

"What're you doing? I said I don't wanna talk about it!"

"I know, I heard you. We can't leave the gym looking like this." she answered casually, which only made it weirder.

When the last piece of equipment was up, she dusted herself off and sat down against the wall next to him. She reached over for her backpack and took out her sketchpad and pencil. He continued to stare at her puzzled. She then opened to her last drawing page and started to scribble.

"What're you doing now?" he asked, annoyed that she wouldn't just leave already.

"Drawing..."

"Then why're you still here?"

"In case you change your mind about wanting to talk..."

"Could be waiting forever, idiot." he sighed, letting his head hit the wall in defeat.

"I can wait. Whatever you're going through, even if it's something that can't be put into words, you don't have to deal with it alone... I mean, you've helped me before..."

The sound between them turned quiet as the only noise was that coming from her pencil. Every once in a while, Katsuki stole a glance at her and her sketchbook. He could faintly see the outline of an armed warrior and what appeared to be a massive wing. Even if it was just a small corner, he could make out the many realistic details. She must've been drawing for years. Strangely, the more he watched her, things seemed to get less frustrating. He dared to admit it was actually a bit relaxing. To think that this girl wouldn't be the one to get pissed off at his outbursts and run off like everyone else.

"Y'know, there are other ways you can get all that anger out..." she commented, breaking the silence.

He crunched up his nose in a scowl. "Don't you start lecturing me on that crap! I don't need to hear you say that I need to work on my anger. I obviously know that, and I'm trying."

She raised a brow to him.

"Believe me, I am."

Well, he wasn't lying.

"I know some things aren't easy to talk about... but there are other ways to deal with it too."

"Yea, like what?" he asked.

"Well drawing is one of my outlets. Music is another."

"You do that a lot, huh?"

She glanced back at him and shrugged. "If not, I'd probably end up hurting a lot of people... Besides, if I didn't, I wouldn't have been able to draw things like this."

She presented her sketchbook to reveal a detailed image of a dragon belching his flames down on a female knight, who managed to block the attack with her shield. It was pretty damn good, not like Kaminari's shitty doodles.

"You like fantasy, huh?"

"Well, I actually made a couple graphic novels before I moved to fantasy. This is just me figuring out which characters I wanna add to my story." she explained with a gesture.

"Where're the other ones?"

He didn't know why he was getting interested in this. His mouth sometimes moved faster than his brain.

"I lost them in the fire..."

"Shit. That sucks."

"They weren't very great anyways. One was a horror story and the other was a romance that I never finished."

"You could write them again."

She paused, thinking about it.

"I guess it never occurred to me... They weren't even that good. Plus, it took me almost a whole year to come up with the story from start to end. If I recreated it all over again, I doubt it'd be the same."

He hummed in response. "Ya got a story for this one, yet?"

"Sort of... I wanted to make one where all these different races who feuded with one another had to join forces to fight off a dark evil entity. Like elves, humans, dwarfs, and so on... I also wanted to add a few twists, some love and betrayal, magic, and a sacrifice..."

"You need to put in some kickass battle scenes then. And you better include the dragons! It'd be cooler if one of your characters was from a clan of dragon tamers!"

"Really?" she asked, a bit surprised that he even suggested it. Did he like this stuff too?

"Hell yea! They'd be the clan that's above everyone else, literally! You conquer the dragons, you can control the whole realm!"

Her emerald eyes widened at him. It wasn't a bad idea either. It was just different seeing him light up like this. Looks like taking his mind off things and staying beside him actually worked. He didn't look pissed off anymore, which was a good sign. That fluttering in her stomach, she could feel it coming back, making her heart pound again.

"O-okay. I'll think about it."

"You better! It's a damn good idea!"

"Yea, it is. I didn't think you'd be into that sort of thing." she added.

Bakugo felt his body stiffen up, as if he had been caught in an unforgivable act. It just slipped out of his mouth. He hadn't realized it then, but he was letting himself get too close with her. Quickly, he averted his gaze to the floor.

"Well it's because of those damn books you got me that made me think of it."

"Still... I bet you have a lot more ideas. Maybe you could read it and let me know what I need to work on." she suggested with a soft smile.

"Tch... whatever. It's not like I really give a shit about it. I'm just throwing out my opinion."

"Maybe I'll make a character after you."

"!"

His chest twisted tighter, almost like it was forming a giant knot. She's such a weird fucking chick... Why did she keep including him in this kind of stuff? It's not like they're friends. He made that very clear the last time they met.

In silence, he watched her continue to drag her pencil across the paper. After a few minutes, she paused to open a clean sheet of paper. She must've finished the picture and was about to start a new one, but that thought quickly passed when she ripped off the corner edge. She folded it in half and handed it over to him. He hesitated, unsure of what she was trying to do, but eventually succumbed and took it. He grazed his thumb to open it and several numbers appeared before his eyes. Is this really what he thinks it is?

"If you feel like you can't say what's bothering you out loud, maybe texting a friend would help..."

"We're not friends." he corrected, but she only chuckled.

"You really need to lie better..."

"I'm not fucking lying!" He shouted. Her smile didn't cease.

Ding! The elevator door opened and Kirishima stepped out, his arms full of various bags of snacks. Geez, when he said he stocked up on food, he didn't say he got the whole store. Bakugo immediately crumpled up the paper and shoved it in his pocket.

"I'm back, Guys! I brought more flavors in case you don't like spicy."

"You Dumbass! That's way too much shit!"

Kirishima dropped everything in a pile between them and chuckled embarrassingly.

"I guess it is a lot, huh? Glad to see you've calmed down, Bakugo. You did good, Hattori." He said with a thumbs up.

Together, they ate their food and engaged in small conversation. Though Bakugo said they weren't friends at all, Akane felt like they truly were. Even with Tsuki completely gone from her life, she knew she would be okay. She could only make it so.