Chapter 26

"Akane, you've been staring at your phone all day." Mae pointed out as she took another bite of her lunch. The young girl then lightly pushed the device to the side to go back to her plate of food.

"Sorry, Mom..."

She knew she didn't approve of having phones at the table, not during family time.

Mae swallowed her food and curiously observed her as she slowly ate. It wasn't often that she'd get to come home and spend time like this, especially around the holidays. She assumed that she'd be ecstatic to have her around for a full weekend, but whatever was going on with her phone clearly took most of her attention. She may not spend a whole lot of time with her daughter, but she could tell when something was bothering her. Come to think of it, it's not like she cared about her messages or calls before. How unusual...

"Waiting for someone to call you?" she asked, which the very question made Akane want to slump back in her seat.

"Maybe..."

"Is it that nice boy - what's his name? Yuto, is it?"

Her nose scrunched in disgust. "I'm not friends with him anymore."

"Really? What happened?"

"He just turned into a jerk..." she muttered, moving her chopsticks around her bowl of rice to get some kind of relief. She clearly didn't want to talk about it, and Mae never intended to force it out of her.

"Pity, he always seemed like such a nice little boy. So then, who're you expecting to call? Is it Tsuki?"

"No, Mom."

"Then is it perhaps... a new love interest?" she asked with a sly smile.

Akane instantly dropped her chopsticks and began to slightly fidget in her chair.

"Is it a boyfriend?... Girlfriend?"

"Mom!"

"What? I'm just wondering. You're at that age now, so it's perfectly acceptable for you to start dating. You're not going to be young forever, you know."

She could already feel the heat of embarrassment wash over her body.

"Mom, I'm sixteen!"

"And in a couple of months you'll be seventeen, and then before you know it, you'll be an adult. Time flies, Akane. You should make good use of the time you have now... Take it from me - I spent all my time to get to this position as head of the PSI, but in doing so, I never really took the time to pursue my other interests, like dating. Sure, I'm highly respected for my services and the pay is substantial, but I still feel that I've missed out on so much from time to time. Now, I'm almost forty years old... and I've never married. I'm practically an old hag." She could hear the lingering hint of loneliness behind her tone.

"It's not too late, Mom."

"Please, what kind of man would be interested in me at my age?"

"Well... what about Mr. Yamura?"

Mae instantly froze up.

"W-what about him?"

"C'mon, you obviously like him. He's been with us for so long and he's taken great care of us in that time." Akane tried to be sympathetic. Her Mom relaxed her body, but her look still remained confused.

"You're not bothered that he's much older than me?"

Akane grimaced.

"No, why would that change anything? His son isn't that much older than me either. He already treats me like a brother, and Mr. Yamura is so kind to me... Doesn't he make you happy?"

"I ummm..."

"Well, does he?" she asked again.

"... Yes."

"Then that's all that matters. I think you should go see him tonight instead of hanging out with me."

"Akane, I can't do that. We hardly get this kind of time together as it is anymore. I don't want you to be alone because of my own selfishness. Besides, I granted Asaki- I mean, Mr. Yamura the weekend as well so that he could have time with Reiki. My time should be with you right now."

As thoughtful as she was taking her into consideration, it just didn't sit right with Akane. She owed her so much for all the things she did for her. She deserved to be selfish for once. Then a thought came to her.

"Then what if we invite them both over for dinner to spend the holiday with us?"

Mae paused, thinking about it. Honestly, it didn't sound like a bad suggestion. Why didn't she come up with that? Even still, it might impede on whatever plans they've already made for the weekend, but... even though she saw him last night, she did want to see him again.

They never actually spent time outside work, except for that one time. She had the roughest first week as Head of the PSI. Her newly formed team of agents were running amuck and needed constant supervision, they were backed up on services owed to the local Police, and on top of it, she was running a fever. She got so burned out that Yamura had to pull her out of work to carry her to the car. He then picked up a to-go order of noodles and stopped by the drug store to get some medicines and brought her home, where he carried her straight to bed.

He didn't have to do those nice things, but nevertheless, that act of kindness stuck with her. You could say that it was the turning point that made her start to notice him more often, and eventually those feelings grew into something deeper. Since then, it was just driving her to and from work while engaging in basic conversation. She would be lying if she said she didn't miss that day she was sick.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask."

She smiled at her daughter, but that smile quickly ceased when she remembered something important. If it wasn't said now, she'd completely forget.

"Before I do that, there's something we need to have a serious talk about."

"I'm not getting another sex talk, am I?"

"That's not the direction I was heading, but if you need another run-down-?"

"No, I'm good." Akane interrupted, re-engaging herself with her meal. She was already embarrassed enough for one night.

"Remember, as long as you're safe and understand consent-"

"Mom!"

"Alright, alright. You remember what I told you when we investigated the note you gave me?" Mae asked.

"That you found out where it was made and it turned out to be an illegal drug den?"

"Yes, but I didn't exactly tell you everything. I was so worried about how it would affect you with the stress you must already be under at school, but I wouldn't be bringing this up if I didn't have a good reason... Inside, there was also a laboratory where we found the blood of at least twenty people. These people's DNA were later matched to many cases of missing persons, over half of which belonged to children... The innocent victims were experimented on and had their quirks removed. We were able to recover most of the child victims, but the adults had unfortunately been killed and their bodies had been taken apart and reformed into Nomus..."

Akane's eyes grew large. She parted her lips to say something, but was left speechless. Why didn't she tell her this? Were the children alright? How did she manage to find this out? Her mind just exploded with questions, but she just couldn't find the words to say them out loud.

"When I think back to that crime scene and of all the unspeakable things they did to those kids, I never... never want to even imagine what they would've done if they took you."

There was a faint shimmer in her eyes, thinking about it. She always had a soft spot for kids. It must've been truly horrible, but Akane was grateful that she discovered this before it could've been too late.

"Mom..."

She felt her hand slide on its own across the round table to clasp hers. Mae returned the gesture with a squeeze and forced herself to dry up her emotions.

"We've already sent detectives to trace where the drugs are being made and where they keep selling it off in public, but we are still getting reports of missing children daily all over Japan..."

She then let go of her daughter to lean back in her chair to reach for the sealed envelope on top of her kitchen counter. After undoing the seal, she proceeded to pull out all the documents inside. A picture was paper clipped to the very top of the front page, a face Akane did not recognize.

"This man-" she pointed. "This is the guy who tailed after you in the mall that day. It's possible that he's been watching you for a while now."

She dug deep into her memories trying to remember if she ever actually met this man or bumped into him by chance on the street or maybe glanced at him at a food kiosk or something. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind. Then she remembered what Midoriya said to her that night. He followed him once he realized she was being stalked and paid very close attention. He said his hair was dark, which that checked out, and he wore a dark hoodie and a mask that covered up his face. That explained why she didn't recognize him, she never saw it. He must have worn the mask every single time he followed her to avoid any suspicion.

"His name is Hiro Asano, but he goes by the nickname 'Sui man'. If you ever see him, I want you to call me immediately." she said, which made Akane fall alert.

"You mean, you haven't found him, yet?"

"He's become one of the League of Villains' main recruiters. They lure their chosen target to a specific location where the League's underlings can abduct them. He used to be involved in human trafficking and dealing before he got involved with them. He has the experience to know how to do this and remain undetected. The information about his quirk is spotty. Witnesses say that he can disappear without a trace, and others say it's time manipulation. We're doing everything we possibly can to find him, but as of now, he still remains at large... I don't want this to overwhelm you, but I can see that it already is. I'm certain he won't be following you around for the time being. Since we have already discovered his base of operations, he will need to lay low somewhere and stay out of sight. The League will also need to form another base and that will be their main priority... You know I won't let anything happen to you as long as I stay on top of everything, but at the same time, I can't keep you from going to school and living your life. We've already been through that rough path, and I don't want it to repeat. As much as I don't want to admit it, I feel that you staying at U.A. with your friends and pro-hero teachers will keep you safe. But when you're out in public, I want you to stay close to your friends and not go off alone, okay? Remember our secret pass-phrase and code if something happens and you can't tell me directly. Until we find this man, I'm not gonna rest."

There was a long pause after that, taking it all in and letting it wash over them. Finally, Akane responded with a nod of her head and locked the image of his face in her mind. With what she's been through, it's nothing she can't handle, but at the same time The League is a whole different ball game compared to the shitheads she's fought before. She'd never admit it, but she was still a bit haunted by the dorm break in. It wasn't because they were coming after her, it was knowing that they were willing to murder the entire class just to get to her. The lengths they go through... She never wanted that to happen again. In doing so, she needed to be extra careful.

Ding! The atmosphere instantly cleared as Akane snatched up her phone.

Unknown number: Hey, idiot. Did you do your workout today?

Somehow, she felt her anxiety slowly fading into calmness reading it. She had been waiting for him to text her all weekend, and now he has. Finally. Mae glanced over her shoulder to peek at the message, but Akane hid it by holding it close to her chest. Too embarrassed to show her mom. Then again, this wasn't anything new since Akane was always the conservative type.

"Is it the person you've been waiting for?"

"Maybe..."

"Who is it? A friend from school?" she asked, like the nosy mother she is. Either way, she was still going to do a background check on the person, like always.

"His name's Katsuki Bakugo, he's one of the guys training me in my group for the Sport's Festival coming up." Akane explained as she grazed her thumb over the touch screen, wondering what to text back. He definitely wouldn't be happy to know that she blew off her workout to spend time with her mom. At the same time, she was a terrible liar.

"Is he nice?"

"I like to think he is... in his own special way." she muttered quietly, feeling a little irritated that she was distracting her from messaging him back.

"Is he cute?" she asked, which forced her to let out an annoyed groan.

"Mom!"

Mae could no longer contain her smile and let out a chuckle. This was the first time in a long time that she saw her daughter get so defensive talking about a boy. It was so adorable. To be young again, she deeply missed that feeling, and it was plastered all over Akane's face.

Ding!

Unknown number: Oi, freshman! This better be the right number. Answer me!

Mae patted her shoulder and gave her a small hug. They had enough time over the weekend to talk more about the bad stuff. They could put it off for the time being. At least, she told her the main issue and showed his picture. Akane didn't have many friends growing up, so since she waited all day for this boy to text her, Mae decided to let it be.

"I'll go give Yamura a call. You can be excused to talk with your friend."

"Are you sure, Mom?"

"Yes, Honey. We can talk more later. Just be back down when they get here."

"Okay."

With a grin, she left the table to go upstairs to her room and once her door was shut, she plopped on the bed. She quickly saved his number in her contacts and went to reply.

Hattori: Hey, yea you've got the right number and no I didn't do the workout today.

Bakugo: Did you do them yesterday? Or the day before when I was getting my license?

Hattori: Nope.

Bakugo: Fucking idiot...

If you don't stop being a lazy ass, you're gonna fall behind with the rest of the dipshits and eat shit the first round of the tournament.

Hattori: I really wish you'd stop calling me that...

Bakugo: Not gonna happen when you can't do a basic instruction.

Hattori: ... I haven't seen my mom in weeks... I wanted to spend time with her before she got another call and goes back into work.

Bakugo: No excuses, idiot.

But...

I guess I can put this off one time... ONE time, got it?

The next time, you better do three times as much and do it even harder!

Hattori: *laugh emoji*

Bakugo: What the hells so funny?

Hattori: That's what she said.

Bakugo: FUCKINg GROSS! THE FUCKS WRONG WITH YOU?! GET YOUR MIND OUTA THE GUTTER!

Hattori: Sorry... Did you ever play the gameboy?

Bakugo: Yea I did. The game's cool as hell.

Hattori: Good. Glad you like it.

Bakugo: Thanks BTW...

You doin any shit with your mom tomorrow?

Hattori: Not that I know of. Why?

Bakugo: We need to get started on fixing my bracers.

Icyhot set me and Deku up to work at his dad's agency and I just got the message today saying that we're gonna start in a couple of days.

Hattori: You're gonna work for Endeavor? Wow. That doesn't really give us a lot of time, does it?

Bakugo: I already got a new re-loader for my grenade launchers and fixed the temp. dials for my gloves. It took me all damn day, but that's one thing that's done.

Hattori: Why didn't you message me earlier? I could've come help.

Bakugo: Cuz I literally JUST got the message from the bastard not even five minutes ago.

Besides, it's late as hell! Why would I bother asking you to come over now?

Hattori: I guess that makes sense...

Bakugo: Can you make it tomorrow or not?

Hattori: Are you actually asking me?

Bakugo: Huh? What do you mean?

Hattori: It's just... you've never asked me before. You've only ever just told me to do things and I do them. Are you ok?

Bakugo: The fuck do you mean? You said you wanted to hang out with your mom cuz you haven't seen her in weeks.

Hattori: Yea, but... Nvm.

What time do you want me over?

Bakugo: Just head over when you wake up and be here before noon.

Hattori: Need me to bring anything, tool wise?

Bakugo: Nah, I got it. Besides, there's a hardware store down the street we can go to if we need shit.

Hattori: Okay. What's your address?

When her phone dinged with the address, she quickly copied and pasted it in the search bar on her map app. From the looks of it, he lived about an hour away from her house if she went by train. It'd be two to three hours by bus.

Now that she thought of it, she felt a little concerned that she already agreed to meet him without even talking it over with her mom. And they had just finished talking about her not needing to go around in public on her own, but then again, she did say the criminal probably wouldn't come after her right now. Still, she knew she wasn't going to be happy to put off their time together.

Suddenly, she heard her bedroom door click open, to which she turned to see Reiki barging his way in. A devilish smirk slapped across his face as he bolted over and sat his bulky, heavy butt on top of her back, pinning her to the bed. She let out an irritated groan as his body was pushing what little air she had left in her lungs.

"Been a few days since I last seen ya. How ya doin' girl?" he said as he nuggied the back of her head.

"Get off..." She muffled, her face down in her pillow.

He chuckled before he eased up off her back. Akane sat up to punch him in the gut, but he caught her just in time. His hand then slithered like a snake around her muscular red arm, stretching his skin and bones to the point where no amount of force could damage him. She flicked her narrowed eyes up at his broad frame and smiled. Together, they laughed as they pulled away and then stepped up to give a proper hug.

"It's good to see you, Reiki."

"You too. You don't know how relieved I was when she called. The old man just doesn't know when to shut up about her."

She raised a brow to him. "What do you mean?"

"Y'know, how my old man's got the hots for your mom."

"He does?"

"Oh, don't get me started. It's night and day with this guy! I know I'm your housekeeper in all, but every time I come over, he's all like - make sure Mae's got some good food in the kitchen, remember to vacuum and dust Mae's room, keep her clothes and bed sheets clean, she's had a long day at work. And even at home, it's like he's constantly going to me for dating advice. The man's been married once already, and I've only dated three times. He hasn't even worked up the courage to ask her out yet." Reiki explained as he sat down right next to her on the edge of the bed.

"When did you figure all this out?" she asked.

"I've known for a while now, but I think it all started shortly after she hired him to be her driver. Y'know the kind of shit my old man was mixed up in before, right?"

"Yea, he was a bodyguard for Shie Hassaikai, wasn't he?"

"That was while I was still a teen and when my mother was still around. After she left, he just wasn't the same anymore. Then some things changed while he was still in the Hassaikai, and he wanted out. In doing so, he lost the protection of the Yakuza and was later arrested for a petty crime. I guess that opened his eyes, knowing I was all he had and that I needed to depend on him, since I was still young. He decided to change himself. Then he met Mae and she agreed to take care of me until his time was served."

"I remember, you lived with us for a few months."

"Yep. When it ended, he promised to repay her for all that she did to look after me, but because of his record, he had a hard time finding a job, even the small, demanding places didn't want him. Then when she became head of the PSI, she always came around asking questions, usually for any knowledge he had from his previous gang affiliation to help with her cases. She always paid us well, but I later found out that she couldn't be seen asking a criminal for help on the case, that it would damage her reputation and public trust. And that's when she offered him to work as her designated driver to avoid suspicion, but I also believed that your mom really cared about us. She shows a lot of heart to almost anyone she crosses and puts everyone before herself, so I can see why the old man likes her."

"You don't think it's because he feels like he owes her?" Akane asked, which made Reiki stare at her a bit more seriously.

"No. When my mom was still around, it wasn't exactly what you would call a 'happy family'. She got tired of the old man gettin' into dangerous shit all the time and not getting paid enough to do it. Of course, I wasn't helping with their situation either. I kept getting in trouble, ditching school to fight some punks, all kinds of messed up crap. Finally, she had enough and left one night while me and my dad were out. She never came back. I guess the old man realized that he put her through so much and didn't bother going after her. The next thing we know, we got a visit from her lawyer to sign divorce papers... And that was it, that was the day my dad stopped smiling... That is, until he met Mae. Now, he smiles every time he goes to work. I know it's gotta be from her."

"Really?"

"Yea."

"And you're okay with it?" she asked with a smile.

"Why wouldn't I be? I'm an adult now, I've got bigger things to worry about. Besides, the old man paid his dues. I think he deserves to do what makes him happy, even if it means dating his boss." he explained, smiling back.

"I think so too... Should we go down and tell them?"

He then stretched his arms and let himself fall back on her bed.

"Nah, let them have their privacy for a bit. We'll go down when the food's ready. We still have some catching up to do anyways."

"Yea, I guess you're right. So what's going on in your life at the moment?"

"Well, my girlfriend's birthday passed a few days ago. I took her to a club with some friends and we got smashed and did drunk karaoke." he smirked, faintly recalling the blurred images of his drunken haze.

"Sounds like fun."

"Yea, things are getting pretty serious between us. It's been almost a full year of dating."

"Then you should get her something special for your anniversary."

"Isn't that for when you're already married?" he asked.

"Who says it can't be for both? Besides, she willingly put up with you for a year. If anything she deserves a gold medal..."

"Geez shorty, why ya gotta put me down like that?"

"Cuz you're practically my brother. If I don't mess with you, it means I don't like you... So what else is going on with your life?"

"Well, I finished my driving courses and bought a car, so I don't have to take a bus or carpool with your mom to get to work anymore. It'll be a time saver now that I'm in college. I can just drive on campus now."

Her ears perked. "Are you busy tomorrow morning?"

"Not really, why?" he eyed her curiously.

"Can you take me to a friend's house?"

They managed to do it. It took both their acquired romantic skills to do it, but they were able to pull it off. They got their parents to finally go out on a date. Akane didn't want to disappoint Mae by using their free time to go help Bakugo and neither did Reiki to his dad for wanting to hangout with his girlfriend, so they formed an idea to get them to come together and enjoy themselves instead of being worried-wart parents. They threw out the idea for the next day for all of them to go out for brunch at a nice restaurant together, and once they all arrived, Reiki and Akane ditched the scene, leaving Mae and Asaki alone. From a distance, they yelled that they were going to go meet up with some friends and come home later. Reiki also made a note to his dad to "not blow it". Akane could already sense them chuckling at what they did. Hopefully, they would stop beating around the bush and make a move already. They just needed a little push.

With their plan executed perfectly, Reiki and Akane dove into his car and headed straight to Bakugo's house. Unfortunately, since it was still a bit snowy in some areas, the drive took a little longer than anticipated and she arrived ten minutes after noon. She beat herself up for not pushing their date sooner and prayed that Bakugo would go easy on her for being so late. It's not like she could help the weather or stop time. She didn't have that kind of quirk.

Soon they arrived at the surprisingly large residence and pulled in the driveway. He lived just on the outskirts of the city, but still, this house was pretty big for just one family. Were his parents heroes too? If anything, they must be important if they had this kind of money. Before she got out, she reached in her pocket for her phone, took off the case, and carefully removed her SD card. She handed it to Reiki, who looked at her questionably.

"What's this for?"

"Mom put a tracking device in my phone. I need it to look like I was with you or else she'll bug the hell out of me for going to my friend's house. I know she can look me up by number, but it's a real hassle to call in favors to the police, so she installed it in the microchip on the SD card. Your dad probably has one too."

Reiki immediately pulled out his phone.

"The old man just gave me this one for Christmas."

"Pull out the card. If it has the little blue mark on the back, it's tracked."

He immediately did as she said and lo and behold, she was right. "Oh crap! So he knows I ditched class that one time to go to Tori's?!"

"Not to be offensive or anything, but I don't think your dad is tech-savvy enough to know how to use the tracker yet." she explained as she opened the car door and stepped out. She walked around to the driver's side where he rolled his window down.

"So who is this guy? Need me to walk you to the door?"

"Nah, he's just a friend from class who needs help on a project."

"I don't see why Mae wouldn't be okay with that. What's the big deal?" he asked, still skeptical of this whole thing.

"It's cuz he's a guy that she hasn't personally met yet, and she's been pestering me non-stop about my love life ever since she got home. If she sees me going to a guy's house, she will never leave me alone until she knows every single detail."

"Does that mean you're dating this guy?"

"N-no!" Akane couldn't help her stuttering. "He's just a friend. Just please do me this solid, as your future little sister?"

Reiki chuckled. "Whatever you say. Well, text me when you're ready to go and I'll come pick you up. Just give me like a thirty minute notice, okay? Tori's place is about that long a drive from here, so I'll be there."

"Okay. Thanks Reiki."

Once that was said and done, he backed out of the driveway and disappeared down the street. Akane turned to the front door and double checked the name and number to make sure it matched the address he sent. Everything appeared to check out, so there was no reason for her to feel so nervous, but her body couldn't help it. The second she was left alone, it was as if her stomach gave a warning that she could spontaneously hurl at any given moment. This was Bakugo's house, where he actually grew up, where she could see his life outside of school, where she would potentially meet Bakugo's family, and so on. Her thoughts then intensified at the thought of possibly seeing Bakugo's room. What if his parents weren't home? Oh shit! She should've thought more about this. Nothing could prepare her for that!

Quickly, before her mind could spiral out of control, she took in a long, deep breath through her nose and exhaled. She stepped up to the front door. Here goes. She held her breath and pushed the doorbell.

She could hear the intense muffled shouting of a woman inside and Bakugo angrily shouting back in response before their yelling turned into footsteps. The door clicked open and he appeared with a look of surprise plastered on his face. That look quickly melted into an annoyed scowl.

"You're late... Didn't expect you'd show up."

She shyly fiddled with the sleeves of her leather jacket.

"Sorry. You don't know what I had to do to get away from my mom today."

"I told ya, if you already had plans to not bother coming."

"I didn't have plans, and I don't now... Honestly."

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes as he pushed the door wider for her to come in. "Get in, idiot."

"Yes, Sens-"

She stopped when he shoved his hand across her mouth. He then pushed her back outside and closed the door behind them.

"Sshh! Don't let the old hag hear you call me that!" he quietly screamed at her. He removed his hand and that's when he realized how close he was to her and took a step back.

"What?"

"What're you, deaf? I said- don't call me that here. If she knows, I'll never hear the end of it." he ordered again.

Is he... afraid? Of his mom?

"Okay then, what do I-?"

"Just call me by my first name, idiot!" Holy shit, he is!

"Alright... but only if you stop calling me idiot." she countered with a devilish smirk.

"Fine, dumbass."

"Nope, not that either." She said,

There was fire in his pupils when he glared at her. She wasn't fazed by it and looked fearlessly in those piercing red eyes.

"My name..."

Bakugo was a bit shocked at this hidden streak of confidence... or was it cockiness? Seeing no other option, he angrily swallowed his pride down with a growl.

"... Fine."

He turned back to the door and held it open for her. When she walked in, she was pretty impressed with the nice layout of the house. Everything looked neat, clean, and new. It was much like her own house, but still, it definitely wasn't what she expected. She immediately went to take off her biker boots and placed them by the other shoes lined neatly against the wall.

As soon as the door closed behind them they heard more footsteps coming their way. That's when two adults poked their heads out from a nearby room and approached them, one woman and one man, both more than twice their age. The woman she easily recognized as Bakugo's mother. Their features were strikingly similar, especially the blonde hair and the red eyes. The other adult she automatically assumed to be his father, for he too looked a lot like him, but in a softer kind of way. Both of them smiled at her.

"Hi, you're Hattori, right?" he asked, to which she nodded. "Katsuki's told us so much about you."

Probably nothing good... she thought.

"I'm Masaru and this is my wife Mitsuki. It's nice to meet you."

"And also to you too. You can call me Akane." she bowed respectfully.

"We hope our son hasn't been too much trouble for you in class."

"Yea right. If he's not causing trouble here, he's causing it somewhere else." his mother sneered, making Katsuki snarl under his breath.

"Shut up, Hag!"

"Don't tell me to shut up, you little brat!"

Before they knew it, her hand smacked the back of his head. Whoa... The two of them annoyingly went back and forth, with Mitsuki pulling on his cheeks and him trying to pull her off.

"Come on, you two, we agreed not to argue today." Masaru muttered rather quietly, as if he was afraid to come between them. Was this guy seriously Bakugo's dad?

"I'm sorry my son can be such a pain in the ass. I can't imagine the kind of grief he gives you in class." Mitsuki replied, forcing a sympathetic smile as she released her son.

Katsuki rubbed the back of his head and distanced himself away from her. That had to be embarrassing. Akane wouldn't dare say it out loud, but seeing this up close... his behavior definitely made sense now. If he wasn't such a jerk sometimes, she'd almost feel sorry for him.

"It's nothing I can't handle." Akane replied.

There was a moment of silence as they all stared at her, unsure of what to say, until Mitsuki's eyes drifted to the scar on her cheek.

"Oh, what happened to your face, Hun?"

On impulse, she went to touch it, but Katsuki immediately yanked her by the shoulder out of reach.

"And I'm the one being a pain in the ass, huh? Don't you two have anything better to do than harass her?" Katsuki asked menacingly.

His mom only continued to glare at him.

"Maybe we should let them be, Dear. We still need to get lunch started." Masaru suggested as he placed a hand on his wife's back.

She relaxed her shoulders and nodded. "Alright, you two. We'll call you when lunch is ready. And Akane, if he gives you any trouble, just yell and I'll come set him straight."

"Nothing's gonna happen! Quick jumping to conclusions!" Katsuki barked as he pushed the freshman to get moving down the hall already.

He shoved her to the stairs at the end of the hall that led up to the bedrooms. From there, she scanned the doors until her eyes stopped on a patchy white door with a giant KEEP OUT sign on the front. Katsuki moved around her to open the door and walked inside where thousands of pieces to his grenade bracers lie scattered across the floor. She closed the door behind them and carefully tip-toed around the equipment to the small open space on the floor where he sat. As she took off her leather jacket, she took a moment to glance around the room.

The layout was neat and organized, but everything in it definitely spoke to Bakugo's personality. There were a couple of hero posters of All Might, a few shelves lined with a random assortment of books, a work desk with a rolling chair and a few papers on top, a full sized bed with black sheets, and a hamper full of clothes. Aside from the giant mess of parts, it was just an ordinary room.

"The main thing we need to work on is fixing the storage tank." he said, re-capturing her attention. Looks like he was ready to jump right on into it.

She knelt down beside him to get a good look at everything. Unfortunately, all she saw was parts. It was kind of hard to picture exactly what he meant. But why would he need one anyways?

"Storage tank? I thought you just exploded stuff."

"The explosions come from the nitroglycerin in my sweat, Dumbass. The more I sweat, the bigger the blast." he explained as he went to pick up his other undamaged gauntlet and tossed it in her arms. "This whole thing is the storage tank for my sweat. The gloves I wear are heated by a control temp. dial to make me secrete more. They both come with grenade launchers and a pin. You pull the pin and it unleashes everything stored up inside. I got four different types of grenades, each one to hold a specific amount of nitroglycerin for a different blast. When we get done assembling the tank, we can attach the other pieces."

"Okay... so which ones are part of that?"

From there, they gathered up practically the whole pile, except for a few small items and worked through sorting them out. He took out the blueprints that the Service Department provided with every costume design and got to work. Fortunately, the bits that he was unable to salvage, he already had the replacements for, which allowed them to move on at a nice steady pace. They took turns going back and forth. After what felt like a long, tedious amount of time, the inner hull of the tank was welded back together perfectly.

"KIDS! LUNCH!" boomed Mitsuki's voice from the lower level, interrupting their work flow.

Katsuki paused and placed the tank to the side.

"D'you eat yet? Before you came?"

She went to shake her head no, but her stomach beat her to it by emitting a loud growl. Embarrassed, she forced herself to keep quiet, but he only rolled his eyes and got up from the floor.

"Come on then."

"KATSUKI!"

"I HEARD YOU!"

With that said, he opened the door and proceeded to walk downstairs into the kitchen with Akane trailing closely behind him. Masaru was already sitting at the table reading the newspaper as his wife then placed a tray of Onigiri in the center. Besides the rice balls, there was also a spread of tempura vegetables, pickled radish, fried shrimp, and fried pork cutlets. Overall it seemed a bit much for lunch. She would have sufficed with just the Onigiri, but her stomach forced her not to care and just enjoy the effort they made to prepare it.

Katsuki took a seat opposite his Dad, which Akane copied and sat down right beside him. When Mitsuki finally joined in, everyone thanked her for the food and proceeded to dig in. Her taste buds were instantly engulfed in a whirlwind of flavors. It was so good that she had to slow down her chewing just to savor it. Damn, it was almost on par with Takami's, and that was saying something. She then wondered if maybe Katsuki cooked this way too.

"So Akane, are you in the same class as Katsuki?" She asked as she reached for her cup of tea.

"Actually, this is my first year at U.A... The school added a new class to the Hero Department last Spring and I was lucky to be among the chosen few to be in it. I'm in class C, and we're way behind the students in class A and B, so Principal Nezu offered to have both classes train us for the upcoming Sports Festival this year. Bakugo- er, I mean Katsuki, is one of my trainers." she explained quietly, feeling annoyed at herself for not dropping the formalities. It didn't occur to her that everyone here, their last name was Bakugo.

"It's alright. I know you're used to calling each other that way. I hope he isn't training you too hard. We wouldn't want such a pretty face to get any more scars." She blurted out nonchalantly.

Akane felt her body become stiff.

Bakugo slammed his fist on the table. "Oh my God! Will you shut up about the scars already?! Can't you see you're making her uncomfortable?!"

"I'm just concerned for her well being! Knowing you, you're probably the one who gave it to her!"

She went to smack him upside the head again.

"He didn't do it."

Her hand halted mid-air when all heads turned to her in surprise.

"I got this from a fight that I didn't act quick enough... I know it's unsightly, but I like to think it's a reminder for me to pay more close attention when it comes to battle." Although she meant what she said, she couldn't bear to have their eyes on her right now. Her chest started to tighten in a knot as well as her stomach. She placed her chopsticks across the top of her bowl and stood from her chair. "Thank you for the food..."

She bowed.

"Please excuse me..."

Without a word, she left the room and quickly sped back up to Katsuki's room. She tip-toed over the pile of equipment to his bed to grab her jacket, but found herself pausing. As she grazed her fingers over the smooth black leather, she contemplated putting it on and leaving. They didn't even get halfway done finishing his grenade bracers, and she did owe him for breaking them in the first place.

She probably didn't mean to come off so rude, but still, to hear his Mom talk about her scar like that... It just made her feel disgusted. If it was that noticeable, maybe Katsuki thought the same way. Even if he defended her, there's no telling if maybe it was all an act just to get his mom off his back. She was so quick to beat him earlier. Who knows what kind of shit she'd do if she knew he gave it to her? That seemed like the most reasonable option.

The door suddenly clicked behind her. She turned her head to see him leaning his back against the door with his arms crossed. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to make eye contact and shifted her focus in the comfort of her jacket again.

"Hey. You doin' alright?"

"Yea... I'm fine." she said in almost a whisper. She could hear his footsteps coming towards her and stop short to her right side.

"Don't give me that."

"What?"

"No one has ever said 'I'm fine' and meant it."

He paused for a moment before he let out a frustrated sigh.

"Look, I know she can be a real pain in the ass. Sometimes the Old Hag just doesn't know when to shut up. There's not really a filter for any of us in this house to anyone, or pretty much wherever we are, really... You didn't have to lie to her, y'know."

"I didn't lie. Everything I said, I meant."

"But you didn't exactly tell the truth either." he added.

"I'm not a good liar."

His gaze then drifted down to the jacket in her arms.

"So what, you're just gonna leave? You said you'd stay until we finished building this shit."

"I know, I just-..."

He stepped a bit closer and she could practically feel the warmth of his body radiating in the air between them.

"Hey, look at me."

She tried to push down her growing anxiety and do as told. When she locked onto his blood red eyes, for some reason they appeared calmer and that calmness eventually started to rub off on her. Seeing them up close like this, they were actually kind of beautiful. He then reached a hand to her cheek and grazed his thumb over her scar. He was so close... so terribly close.

She sighed through her nostrils.

"Do you think it's really hideous?"

"No. So what if you got one? Icyhot's got the biggest damn scar on his face and he still gets more than enough attention. You don't need to worry so much... but..."

He rubbed the back of his neck embarrassingly, trying to perk up his courage.

"Look, I don't normally say this shit to people, so you better keep this to yourself, got it?"

She nodded.

"I'm... I'm sorry for what I did to you. If you wanna leave 'cuz of the shit my Mom said, I get it. You don't have to stay in a place where people are gonna stare at you and annoy the hell outa you with stupid questions or get up into your personal space. I get it, I really do. I don't know how, but I'll find a way to fix the rest of this shit myself."

She paused for a moment to look back down to think about it. It seemed kind of petty to leave so suddenly from just one bad comment. To think, of all the mean shit Bakugo said before, she should've been used to it by now, so how should his Mom be any different? Despite that, she had been looking forward to coming here and spending time with Bakugo, even if it was just to fix his bracers. That time they spent getting her books, helping Maiko, eating at Takami's, and playing at the arcade was the most fun she's ever had in years. Even if he didn't like her as a friend, or only saw her as a group mate for an assignment, she still wanted to get to know him. He really wasn't what he appeared to be on the surface.

"I already told the Old Man to find some way to get her out of the house for the rest of the day, but whatever... as long as she's not in my hair, at least."

He paused shortly to steal another glance at her. She seemed to still be lost in space, contemplating whether or not to stay. Then he remembered something.

"Hey."

No response.

"Hey, Idiot." he said a bit more loudly.

She jolted and jerked her head to him.

"Geez, is your mind always in the damn clouds?... I... I want you to have something before you go."

On cue, he approached his computer desk and opened the bottom drawer. From there, he pulled out a small black velvet bag. When he closed the drawer, he turned around and hesitantly fiddled with it before he offered it to her. She took it and proceeded to pull it apart to open. Using her two fingers, she fished out the small trinket. It was a silver chain bracelet with a single charm of a miniature skull hooked on it. It wasn't anything big or boujee, but it was enough to bring a warm sensation to her chest. Her lips curled a soft smile as she went to look at it more closely.

"What's this for?"

"For you getting me something for Christmas. I never asked for you to get me something, but I didn't wanna feel like I owed you... Look, I don't normally do this shit, so if you hate it-"

"I don't! I really like it."

His breath caught in the back of his throat in surprise as he watched her wrap it around her wrist. Her emerald eyes almost gleamed, staring at the little charm. He figured she would be like any other girl and laugh at him for picking a skull of all things. When he thought back to the things she might be into, he drew a blank. The only thing he really knew about her was that she was into heavy metal, drawing, and reading. He didn't listen to that genre much to get her a CD and she probably read a lot more books than he did, so getting her something good to read was out of the question, and that Icyhot Bastard already got her a damn sketchbook. The only thing he could think of was that she was into alternative shit and wore skull shirts, so maybe she'd like the skull charm. Seeing the glow on her face now, he felt content.

"Thank you, Katsuki."

She said his name again... Damn it, why did he like it so much?! He could already feel his cheeks burning.

"S-sure. Now we're even, got it?"

She nodded, still holding that same dumb smile on her face. A moment of silence went by and she at last made her decision.

"You said she's not gonna be around, right?"

"Yea, he said he would take her out so she'd stop bugging us for a few hours. They're probably already gone now. Why?"

She tossed her leather jacket back on his bed spread.

"Then let's get back to work."