I want to personally thank every single person who reads and supports my work. Your comments mean the world to me and I read every single one of them! This started out a little rough, but as time went on, things improved drastically! I'm so glad I stuck to it!

So now we've reached the end. As sad as some might be, actually finishing this thing feels amazing. Like I actually accomplished something of worth! XD

Anyway, this is a pseudo-epilogue, so I really hope you enjoy and I'll see you on the flipside!

Ashido couldn't put her finger on as to why, but she didn't think she'd ever felt this exhausted in her entire life. Perhaps it was from staying up a little too late last night, or maybe it was all the stress from the last month or so crashing down on top of her all at once.

Either way, she needed a nap.

Walking back into the dorms for the first time since the earthquake, a full two weeks after, was surprisingly emotional, her legs feeling weak as she and Midoriya ventured into the common room and found an entire movie night set up waiting for them, with popcorn, candy, blankets, a pillow fort, and a stack of superhero movies and documentaries, some rom-coms, and anime films. Midoriya had gushed over the selection of hero films while Ashido noticed her favorite movie sitting at the top of the pile. She tried to smile and be happy, she really did, because this was so unbelievably thoughtful and beautiful and she loved her friends so much, but she just couldn't help but notice the number of pillows climbing up to only nineteen and despite the happy ending to their story, she discovered tears silently streaming down her face anyway.

Because it could have gotten really bad. It came way too close to getting really bad.

"Ashido?" Hagakure's voice sounded out next to her, and Ashido's heart leaped into her throat.

She wiped her eyes harshly, putting on a smile. "Yeah, hey! This is really cool! You guys didn't have to put this together!"

"She's right." Midoriya said softly, looking between a cheesy action movie set in the beginning of quirk history and an All Might documentary with a sad smile. "This is too much, you guys. You didn't have to go this far."

"But we wanted to!" Uraraka cheered, far more jovial than she'd been in what felt like forever, and threw her arms around the green haired teen. Any other day and Ashido would be teasing him immensely for the way his face turned redder than Kirishima's hair.

"We wanted to give you a warm welcome back." Yaoyorozu smiled. "We've missed having you around."

But something's still missing, Ashido couldn't help but think. Something's still missing and it's not the same. Not yet.

Ashido's eyes met Midoriya's, and from the looks of it, he was thinking the same thing, his eyes still somewhat dimmed, because he was okay, and was going to be absolutely fine and there was nothing to be afraid of, but that didn't mean that they didn't still miss him. That didn't mean that they didn't notice that he wasn't there.

Bakugou had been sitting at death's door for a little too long for Recovery girl to give him proper healing without the sudden loss of stamina imposing an immediate threat. They were concerned that if she tried to completely heal him now, when his body was already doing it on its own, it might cause his stomach in particular to set improperly, which could lead to health problems later down the line that they didn't want to risk. So, he was stuck with staying at the hospital with stitches still in his stomach for a bit longer and would be forced on an all liquid diet even after he was discharged. None of them were happy about it, least of all him, but as it stood, there wasn't much they could do about it.

And so, here Ashido and Midoriya were, all healed up like nothing ever even happened and back in Heights Alliance with their friends, while Bakugou had no choice but to sit back, alone in a hospital room. It's not like he would have been all that thrilled to spend time with all of them in a setting like this, but it still didn't feel right, just knowing that he wasn't around.

So bless Kirishima and his thoughtfulness when he reappeared in the common room, though Ashido never even noticed him leave. He held up his cell phone with a smile on his face. "Guys, I got Blasty on the line!"

The class was quick to loudly crowd around him, Ashido laughing as they all attempted to talk over each other through the small device. Kirishima raised his hands defensively. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey guys, calm down! It's not even on speaker yet!"

As the class collectively gave the red head some breathing room, he pressed something on the screen of his phone and held it up. "You're on speaker, Bakugou. Say hi to everyone!"

"F*** all y'all!"

"Dude, come on!" Kirishima shouted in amused exasperation while the class exploded in laughter and cheering. Sero and Kirishima were quick to shush them.

"So Black Eyes and Deku are over there now, right?" he asked, a hint of disdain in his voice.

"Yeah, Recovery Girl healed us and we got discharged this evening." Midoriya explained sheepishly. "Sorry, Kacchan."

"The h*** are you sorry for?" he spat. "Stop apologizing for the stupidest s***, you f***ing dweeb."

Someone in the group snorted while Ashido could clearly hear Hagakure stifling a giggle. Midoriya sighed. "Right, sor- I mean I'm-... Right, okay. Got it."

A growl of annoyance could clearly be heard through the speaker, which only made Midoriya's smile brighter. Kaminari laughed. "Wish you were here, man! We're having a movie night to celebrate everything turning out okay and it just ain't the same without you!"

"Why the h*** would I want to be at your dumb movie night anyway?"

"Because you love us!" Kaminari responded easily, his grin forcing Ashido to squint.

"And who the f*** told you that?!"

"You don't need to tell us, man. We've, uh- We got the message."

"Lies and slander! F*** you!"

Ashido couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this light, her classmates laughing with joy and smiling like a bunch of idiots who didn't know how the world worked. Ashido almost felt like a kid again, playing with her friends at the park and being blissfully unaware of how unfair and terrifying life could be.

Such a needed reprieve. It had been nice.

Another week and a weekend had rolled by since then, the class moving on and functioning like normal, or at least, as normal as it could with one still recovering. There were still nights where she or one of her boys had nightmares, and she often found herself either huddled up in one of their rooms sobbing like a small child or trying to comfort one of them after breaking into her own room to talk. There was even one night where Kirishima got a rather interesting call from Bakugou, though he wouldn't say much more about it than that. Ashido had a feeling she understood why. The guy's already seen some of the worst the world has to offer. This is just one more check off his list of traumatizing experiences.

And they'd visit him constantly. Sometimes they'd find him sleeping off some pain medication, while others he'd be wide awake and giving them the dirtiest looks as soon as they walked through the door, warning them of even daring to try to use him as an excuse to procrastinate on their school work. Slowly but surely, their visits weren't quite as frequent because of that. That is, until Kirishima revealed that Bakugou was still tutoring him, which was how Kirishima was keeping up with still being there almost all the time. There was a lot of yelling when all four of them showed up with their homework the next day.

And the world just kept spinning, rebuilding itself to what it was before. Now, it didn't seem so impossible.

Yesterday was shaping up to be nothing particularly special. She got up that morning, had breakfast, and joined her boys in calling Bakugou again, whining for the nth time that they miss his cooking. He seemed far less cranky about it that morning, so that was probably a good sign. Then they all went to class.

Nothing of note really happened until heroics class. It was a battle royale, all of them paired off with the last team standing as the winner. Sadly, Kouda wasn't there that day, as one of his pets had grown old and sick and had to be put down. Ashido couldn't help but feel terrible for him. As someone whose quirk revolves around animals, it must be especially painful for him. Ashido had a pretty good idea of what it was like to face the mortality of someone you hold dear.

She'd lucked out, being paired up with Todoroki, and was totally ready to kick some a** before Kaminari let out the loudest screech she'd ever heard in her life.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME IT WAS TODAY!?" he screamed several octaves too high, zooming passed her as he took off towards the training ground entrance. Several other shouts of excitement sounded out across the area.

Ashido whipped around to follow him, her eyes immediately landing on their teacher and the two boys following in behind him. It was as if everything in the world had finally, finally fallen completely back into place.

"No! F*** you!" Bakugou yelled back, yanking Kirishima in front of him to block the incoming stampede of his excited classmates. "And Kiri, if you so much as think about turning around, I swear to all that is good in this forsaken world I will launch you through the f***ing wall!"

"Calm down, all of you." Aizawa drawled, the class collectively quieting at the sound of his voice. "His body hasn't yet fully recovered, so no sparring and no rough housing until further notice. And please be gentle."

Bakugou made a face at that, but didn't say much else, instead choosing to sit with Aizawa and observe the royale. Ashido was happy to say that the class's overall spirits had shot through the roof, every pair fighting with vigor and enthusiasm. Ashido even won in the end, even if she was kind of carried to victory by Todoroki. Midoriya and Kaminari followed close behind.

Apparently, Bakugou had gone through at least one healing session with Recovery Girl just before he'd been discharged, just to make sure that his arm and the puncture wound in his hip were completely taken care of and no longer issues to worry about. His stomach, however, was still extremely tender and certain foods were still off limits. With this information, Ashido wasn't surprised that the seemingly exhausted ash blonde immediately disappeared into his dorm room after class. That didn't stop her from chasing after him though, forcing herself not to think too much about it as she skidded to a halt in front of his room and rapped on the door.

His cursing was muted behind the closed door, but he trailed off as soon as he yanked it open and met her eyes. It was as if an entire conversation passed between them within a single millisecond, silent understanding passing between them as if there was no one else in the world. Ashido sobbed before she could stop herself.

"F***ing h***..." Bakugou sighed as Ashido gently wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed herself against him. As much as she tried to keep her emotions in some semblance of control, the sound of his heart beating strongly against her ear and the steady rise and fall of his chest was all it took to break through her already weakened defenses.

He didn't try to push her away when she started crying into his shirt, nor did he attempt to hug her back. He just stood there, silently accepting his fate as the pinkette ruined his shirt with her tears and squeezed his diaphragm just a little bit too tight. She'd never know how long they stayed like that, but she wasn't above admitting how grounding of a moment it was for her, to be standing here in Heights Alliance with her friend after almost of month of nothing but heartbreak and waiting, waiting, waiting.

"Alright, that's enough, Horns." he said as he pushed her away, his voice familiarly gruff, but strangely soft. "You've had your moment. Now f*** off. I'm tired."

And he slammed the door right in her face. Ashido found that she couldn't have cared less.

She supposed that yesterday's events were why she was so ridiculously tired today, draining her energy and leaving her tossing and turning once again. She'd felt like a zombie rolling out of bed this morning, dragging herself to her desk and zoning out through classes. Today was special though, because it was the first time since the earthquake that all twenty of them were present in the classroom, and that was a good reason to be happy. That still didn't change the fact that she was tired as f***.

So she was sorry if she snapped or glared at anyone, or didn't catch something someone was saying, or missed something entirely, because all she wanted was to sleep for ten thousand years. This whole ordeal had taken its toll and she's exhausted.

So walking down the sidewalk back towards the dorms was a blessing, her bed distantly calling to her as she stumbled her way there. The sun was just about to set, the campus blanketed in sunlight as students slowly meandered their way to their homes. The chatter was low, a nice hum in the back of her mind to lull her into a sense of security.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Such a nice day.

"Leave him alone!"

Ashido stopped at the sound of Midoriya's voice, spinning on her heel and zeroing in on a scene that slapped her awake almost instantly.

There were three boys, none of which she particularly recognized, laughing and sneering as Midoriya stood strong, staring them all down with self confidence he'd literally fought tooth and nail for. Behind him was Kouda, tears streaming down his face and huddled up in a ball as he shielded a small cat from the group's dangerous eyes. The poor little thing looked as if its leg was hurt, limping around in Kouda's shadow as he whispered reassurances. Whether it was for it or him, she wasn't sure.

"It's the freckled kid from 1-A!" one of them jeered. "If you're so tough, then why don't you make us leave?"

"I really don't want to." Midoriya warned, returning their glares tenfold. He'd learned from the best, after all. "It's best for all of our sakes that you just walk away."

The three boys laughed, completely ignorant to the true power manifested before them. However, Ashido could still see the way Midoriya's fingers were twitching and the way he held his hands so that they were close to his face. His forehead shone with sweat against the evening sun.

There was a moment where Ashido felt her blood boil, rage overwhelming her senses and leaving her vision red. It was as if a long forgotten hatred had been rekindled, a blazing inferno in her healing soul, and every fiber in her being was screaming in her ears with an irritating buzz. Acid dripped from her fingers, a light sizzle sounding from the grass at her feet.

How dare they. How dare they!

Somewhere in her mind's eye, crimson eyes met hers, pain hidden behind a curtain of indifference as her voice tore at him like a knife, and then they were dimmed with agony until the light left them and the breath left his lungs, and suddenly, the anger completely evaporated.

Calm. She needs to stay calm. The last time she'd lost herself to anger nearly took her friend away forever and she didn't think she could handle that happening ever again.

Of course, that didn't mean she had to stand by and just let this happen. That had been a much more complicated situation that she'd been mostly blind to. This seemed pretty straight forward in comparison.

She nearly lost it when one of the boys finally lost his temper and socked Midoriya in the jaw. The green-haired teen took it easily, barely flinching at the collision even when his cheek bruised and his left nostril lightly bled. The bubbling anger came roaring back as Ashido heard her teeth clatter together and she stomped over. "What the h*** do you think you're doing!?"

The boy laughed, an ugly sneer on his face. "What, now you're gonna have a girl defend you?"

The front boy, the leader of the group from the looks of it, surprised Ashido by smacking him over the head. "None of that. I didn't ask for your input, nor did I ask you to hit the guy."

Ashido could feel Midoriya's gaze next to her as she looked over the three. Two and three weren't anything special, the second boy looking like the most stereotypical pretty boy she'd ever seen and the quieter third one with the head and arms of a bat. Unlike Pretty Boy, whose eyes were boring into her and making her skin crawl, he had a kinder aura about him, even if he was still participating in whatever this was. Ashido had no respect for him doing that, but at least he might not be that bad of a person.

The leader, for some reason, made her angry. At least he didn't act like a complete jerk like Pretty Boy, but there was something about him that put her on edge. His eyes were sharp, shifty, his dark hair somewhat long but well kept and a pair of sunglasses on his head. Ashido vaguely remembered seeing someone who looked similar to him during the practical of the U.A. heroics entrance exam.

"Listen," Sunglasses said. "I really don't want to fight you, miss. So if you could leave, that'd be appreciated."

Ashido snorted, crossing her arms. "I don't know what's going on here, but I'm asking you politely to leave them alone."

"Good grief," Pretty Boy growled. "We were just playing a game."

"Hurting innocent animals is not a game." Midoriya said sternly. His cheek was now purple. "We're asking you nicely to please leave us alone. We don't want to fight you either."

Now, Ashido didn't believe for a second that they weren't looking for a fight, but she chose not to say anything. Sunglasses was giving her a dangerous look, annoyance beginning to creep up in his eyes. He sighed. "Now look what you did."

Ashido and Midoriya glanced behind them, watching as the cat limped out of sight. Kouda gave a satisfied sigh, a small smile on his face as the poor creature made its escape. It was only a second, literally just a second, before Ashido looked back towards the boys and found Sunglasses literally inches away from her face. She hadn't even heard him move. "You went and ruined our fun. How rude."

She resisted the urge to flinch, even when he was standing so close. She refused to play defensive in this situation. She would not lose ground to these guys. Midoriya watched wordlessly as the other two boys approached as well. "Ashido, Kouda, let's just go. We have more important things to do."

Ashido couldn't help but swell with pride at Midoriya's confident demeanor and passive aggressive attitude, not daring to crack under the pressure that he was being put under. He showed no fear, even when images of past experiences could very well be flashing across his vision. Ashido chose to turn away from that train of thought.

She heard Pretty Boy squawk in indignation while Discount Batman let out a small 'oi' as if he were at a loss. Sunglasses snorted, obviously annoyed with them, but in Ashido's humble opinion, he could go suck an egg.

There was a whoosh, a light breeze rustling against her pink curls, and in the blink of an eye, Sunglasses appeared in a blur, his form seemingly melting into the air and rebuilding itself behind them. Ashido jumped, not prepared for the use of what was obviously the guy's quirk, and watched in horror as he lifted his foot and jammed it right into Kouda's chest, earning a surprised gasp from the animal whisperer as he toppled over onto his back.

There was a moment where real anger flashed across Midoriya's eyes, his fists clenching and lightly sparking, but it was replaced by uncertainty a moment later, leaving him almost confused in his position. Ashido wondered if he was trying to hold back like he had with her back in that merch shop. She knew he didn't want to seriously hurt someone, even if they were petty bullies.

He also probably didn't want to get in trouble with the school. He'd already been on thin ice before, taking part in a major hero raid illegally and then getting into a fistfight with Bakugou after curfew. The last thing he needed was to attack students outside the heroics classes and be the one to get in trouble when they goaded him into it rather than attack first. Too risky, even if his retaliation was justified.

D*** school politics.

"What? It's not like I actually hurt him." Sunglasses laughed.

That didn't help Ashido feel any better, buddy, and it didn't help Midoriya loosen up either.

And they weren't the only ones, apparently, because the next thing any of them knew, Sunglasses was on the ground.

It happened so fast that Ashido wasn't sure what even happened at first. She saw the three boys first, Sunglasses falling flat on his a** from an unknown momentum and slowly processing how he ended up there in the first place. Pretty Boy and Discount Batman both looked ready to soil themselves, their eyes wide with terror and knees buckling wildly. When Sunglasses finally looked up, his eyes were filled with what could only be described as hatred.

A second later, Ashido turned, finding Midoriya crouching down to help Kouda back to his feet, Kouda patting his back to show his appreciation and support rather than have to say it out loud. Meanwhile, Ashido was suddenly grinning, because standing in Midoriya's place next to her was Bakugou.

Sunglasses growled. "The h*** is wrong with you?"

"What? It's not like I actually hurt you." he sneered back, his voice dripping with venom and gaze absolutely murderous. His teeth were barred, his canines glistening in a demonic grin.

With how close they'd become, Ashido had genuinely forgotten just how good he was at intimidation.

Sunglasses stumbled to his feet, a clear hand-shaped scorch mark on the front of his uniform jacket, and glared daggers at the explosion user. The other two seemed to be gaining some confidence from their leader's defiance in the face of death. "You think you're better than me, you son of a b****?"

Bakugou didn't even miss a beat. "Yes, I do, and that I am."

Ashido heard Midoriya choke somewhere behind them.

Sunglasses ground his teeth. "Cocky mother f***er. Just because you made it into the heroics course and I didn't? You're all looking down on me and yet they let a monstrosity like you run around scot-free?"

Bakugou snarled, a nefarious glint in his eyes that had the three of them quaking in their boots. "You're really asking for it, f***er. I ain't in the mood for this kind of bulls*** today, so I'd recommend for everyone's sake that you just f*** off and leave these losers alone."

"What? Too scared to fight me?"

"Do you want me to?"

"Kacchan..." Midoriya warned, his expression etched with concern.

"Hey dude," Discount Batman, now the smartest of the group in Ashido's opinion, said nervously, grabbing Sunglasses's shoulder. "Maybe we should go. It's not worth it to fight over a cat."

Sunglasses shook him off, glaring at Bakugou as if he had some kind of vendetta against him. Bakugou, on the other hand, had toned down some of his intensity, but his eyes were still like that of a predator, an almost villainous glint making them practically glow, and his teeth remained barred. Ashido could only wish she could flip from chill to mass murderer like an on and off switch so easily. It amazed her that Sunglasses was actually brave enough to invade the ash blonde's personal space and get that close to him, meeting his gaze head on despite the way his hands and knees trembled. It was a wannabe hero staring down the real deal, an amateur against an expert.

Sunglasses, with a wobbling smile, met Bakugou's hardened gaze. "I'm surprised at how much the school lets you get away with. I wonder what I can do?"

What happened next would forever change the course of that young man's life. For the worst.

It was a blur, a mass melting into the air and reappearing elsewhere so fast that none of the six of them even realized what happened until Bakugou involuntarily gasped a second later. His viciousness held, but pain flashed across his eyes, and the realization was like a bolt of lightning.

The idiot punched him.

He actually punched him.

Right in the stomach.

Suddenly, all Ashido could think was f*** this guy, but before she knew what was going on, two things were already happening at once.

Green energy surged forward as Ashido was being yanked back, Kouda whimpering at the sizzling against his skin where he made contact with her. It was a moment later that she realized that she'd leaped forward towards the a**hole herself, unsure of what her plan had actually been in that moment.

There was a sickening crunch where Midoriya's fist collided with Sunglasses's nose, digging into his face and sending him careening off across the yard, skidding across the grass and through the side of the school with a resounding crash. The two lackeys looked on in utter shock, left completely speechless by the display of power.

"D***it, Deku!" Bakugou yelled in anger, lightly clutching his stomach. "I had it under control!"

"I'm sorry! I panicked!" Midoriya yelled back, flailing and genuinely hysterical. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine, you moron! Calm down!"

"I am calm!"

"That's my line, f***stick!"

The two powerhouses continued to argue like children, leaving the rest of them in a state of shocked confusion. Ashido barely noticed that acid was still freely dripping off her hands.

"What is wrong with you!?" Discount Batman screamed. "You could have killed him, you lunatic!"

"Enjoy your position in the heroics course while you can!" Pretty Boy declared angrily. "You won't be staying there for long after this!"

The two boys ran off at that, searching through the wreckage for their fallen leader. Ashido felt Kouda release her, leaving her to stand there in a state of stunned silence as she attempted to process everything that had just happened while he approached the two rivals. "Um, are we gonna be in trouble?" he spoke up nervously.

"Doubt it." Bakugou growled, attempting to straighten his posture. "Throwing a punch with clear malicious intent at an injured person is gonna screw them over big time. I can handle it, obviously, but anyone else and they could have been seriously f***ed up. Also, he swung first and I didn't touch him."

D*** school politics.

Bakugou let out some kind of indecipherable sound of protest when Midoriya forced his arm around his shoulder. "The h*** do you think you're doing!? I can walk, a**hat!"

"I don't care. It's better safe than sorry." Midoriya said sternly before turning to Kouda. "Kouda, please take his other arm."

"I don't need your help, extras!" Bakugou practically screamed in their ears, even when he didn't do much to push them away. Ashido pointedly ignored the way he stumbled as they began to pull him along and swallowed the fear that was building up in her stomach. She could only hope that something hadn't been torn.

She was about to follow after them when she heard sizzling at her feet, looking below her and noticing the sidewalk they'd been standing on for the first time since she'd stepped into this situation. There were holes in the concrete, steam rolling up from where drops of her acid ate through the hardened cement like cotton candy and left it looking like Swiss cheese. Her acid in that moment was so strong that it was corroding the sidewalk itself in seconds.

If Ashido had attacked any of those boys, she could have done far more lasting damage than Midoriya's punch. She only hoped that Kouda's hand didn't get too badly burned.

With those thoughts festering in her mind and making her stomach flip, she followed after her classmates towards the dorms, her exhaustion nearly forgotten.

"You got a minute, Sensei?"

Aizawa looked up from grading papers to find Jirou peering into the teacher's lounge. Present Mic and Midnight spared her passing glances before returning to their own work while All Might watched her carefully, his brows furrowed in what could only be apprehension. Honestly, after everything Aizawa's seen, that was all the reason he needed to decide that this was probably a situation that required his attention. "Yes, I do. Can we discuss it here or would you like to speak in a more private setting?"

"No, this is fine." Jirou said, her voice layered with uncertainty. "Do you know where Recovery Girl is right now? I think something happened to Bakugou."

All four heads turned to face her at that, eyes wide. Aizawa tried to ignore the feeling of his heart dropping. "Jirou, please elaborate."

Jirou twirled her ear jack, a nervous habit as she stared pointedly at the wall. "I got to the dorm and found him being led in by Midoriya and Kouda. Ashido asked me to look for Recovery Girl and I thought I should get you too. I don't know what happened, but she sounded p***ed."

Aizawa shared glances with the other teachers, worry etching their faces as they got up from their desks. Midnight's voice stood out. "All Might, head to the dorm for damage control. Present Mic, help Jirou find Recovery Girl. She's most likely in her office. Aizawa, with me."

Present Mic and All Might were at their feet immediately, disappearing through the doorway after Jirou's retreating footsteps. It only took Aizawa a moment to fall into step with Midnight as she strode down the halls of U.A., her heels clicking against the tile floor.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" Aizawa asked carefully, his heart still in his throat.

"Just a hunch." Midnight replied coolly, only frustrating him.

The fact that anything could have happened so soon set his nerves on fire. The kid literally just got discharged from the hospital yesterday, after being stuck there for a month, after being in a coma for two weeks, after being gutted in the stomach by rebar and nearly dying. The kid's been dragged through the ringer. What happened now?

He followed Midnight wordlessly, passing small groups of students chatting away as they all headed back to their dorms. Twisting and turning through the halls, the two pro heroes found themselves stepping into the dimly lit security room, the main source of light being the half a dozen computer screens bathing them in a blueish hue. With a flick of her hands, Midnight was already rewinding the recordings, looking over the main cameras outside of the building in search of Aizawa's students.

"You're sure you'll find them that easily?" Aizawa questioned, watching his colleague in scrutiny.

"It couldn't have been any earlier than the end of classes, whatever happened." Midnight reasoned. Her calculated movements suddenly stopped, her head turned to a particular screen on the bottom left. Her voice dropped to something serious. "As a matter of fact, she mentioned Kouda, right?"

Aizawa peered at the screen himself, watching in confused apprehension as a group of boys surrounded what was obviously Kouda on the ground. Midoriya appeared a moment later, the problem child defending his classmate in a calm and rational manner that, only to admit it to himself, honestly made Aizawa proud. He felt his blood pressure rise as soon as one of them punched Midoriya in the face, a deliberate attack against a fellow student unprovoked that Aizawa would be taking advantage of when he spoke with Nezu about this. Not even half a minute later, Ashido had stepped in, the boys attempting to intimidate them as a cat jogged out from where Kouda was and disappeared off camera. One of the boys went so far as to kick Kouda and Aizawa's blood hit a boil.

That's when Bakugou appeared, entering the scene so suddenly that none of the other students even noticed him until he was shoving one of the boys away from Ashido. His presence seemed to knock some sense into the boys, two of them backing off in what Aizawa could only assume was fear. A deep, dark and irrational part of himself hoped that was the case.

One of the boys, however, seemed to be a little overconfident, actually challenging Bakugou, from what it seemed. Despite his dangerous stance, Bakugou made no move to attack him, and Aizawa couldn't be more proud of him for that.

And then the boy swung at high speed, the tape unable to keep up with the kid's quirk, and his fist buried itself into his student's injured stomach.

Aizawa wasn't sure what the feeling was that suddenly rushed through his veins, but the fact that it threatened his rationality to the point that he didn't even flinch when Midoriya broke the kid's nose disturbed him. Allowing a moment for his vision to return to the blue color created by the screens rather than the red glaze that had overtaken it, Aizawa swiftly turned on his heel and barged out of the security room.

"Meet me in the principal's office when you get the chance." Midnight called. "I'll get a good word in for you."

"Thanks." Aizawa replied curtly, storming back through the halls towards the entrance that would eventually take him to the dorms.

The kid's stomach was still vulnerable. He still couldn't eat solid food, for f***'s sake. Who knew what kind of damage a hit like that could cause. If his stomach sustained any serious damage whatsoever, let alone the worst case scenario of rupturing, he didn't give a f***. He was talking his mother into suing.

He was marching into Heights Alliance before he knew it, finding a crowd of concerned and angry teenagers in his wake. On the outer rims of the crowd, Iida was literally ranting at nothing, pacing around and chopping his arms wildly as he yelled about how disappointed he is in his fellow U.A. students for such imbecilic actions. Asui and Todoroki both did their best to calm him down, though they both also looked ready to shank someone. Uraraka had given up on being reasonable altogether, sulking in a corner up on the ceiling. The marks on her bare arms seemed to signal a past struggle, as if she'd had to be forcefully restrained from leaving. He briefly wondered if she'd actually considered homicide.

Over by the kitchen doorway, Kouda, his right hand tightly bandaged, had situated himself to watch the madness from a safe distance, though there was a clear scowl on his face. Inside, Aizawa could hear Rikidou practically throwing his pots and pans around like they'd personally offended him. There was a loud clatter, Rikidou struggling not to curse at the mess that had inevitably been made as a result. Apparently, Aoyama was in there with him, because there was also a surprised, girly shriek that accompanied the crash. Just outside the door, Tokoyami and Shouji were both brooding with enough grouchiness to practically manifest their own dark cloud to shroud them in dreariness, completely unaffected by the sudden noise coming from the kitchen, though Dark Shadow let out a squawk of displeasure.

The rest of the class was crowded around one of the couches in the common room, Ojiro and Hagakure peering over in concern while Sero impatiently tapped his foot, his grin turned upside down and hands rubbing longingly at his elbows. Off to the side, Jirou and Mineta had put their differences aside to make a collective effort to keep Kaminari calm, his expression a mixture of anxiousness and genuine, silent rage. Opposite to them, Ashido and Midoriya stood together, Midoriya with a patch on his bruised cheek and wringing his hands nervously while Ashido did everything in her power to control her frustration and anger. Having been dragged through that ringer alongside Bakugou, he couldn't imagine what might be going on in her mind.

Speaking of which, said explosive problem child was seated on the couch, shirtless as Recovery Girl looked him over and gave him an impromptu checkup for everyone's peace of mind, even if he looked less than thrilled about it. Kirishima sat next to him, likely as damage control, while Yaoyorozu stood by as Recovery Girl's assistant, diligently creating supplies as needed. At Bakugou's other side, closer to where Midoriya was, All Might sat quietly, watching the old nurse work like a silent guardian.

Other than Recovery Girl, almost everyone in the room was avoiding staring at Bakugou's exposed torso, unable to look at the remnants of the damage done. Since Recovery Girl hadn't been able to heal him for so long, his body had to compensate naturally, leaving a permanent reminder etched into his skin. Aizawa found himself having difficulty looking at it himself.

The massive scar on Bakugou's stomach was hard to miss, dark and as angry as its owner. It was somewhat star-shaped, messy and uncaring in the way it tore through his pale flesh, and spread out further than the actual hole left behind. Aizawa knew that there was a matching scar maiming his back where the rebar had entered his body, possibly larger than the exit wound, but he didn't really care to walk around and examine it.

"Hey," Present Mic suddenly appeared at his side. "Don't worry. From the sounds of it, he's fine. Nothing to worry about."

Aizawa only hummed in response, approaching the scene to see for himself. Trust but verify, as they say. The students in his path easily stumbled out of his way as he came through, towering over the little nurse as she finished her quick tests. Bakugou's posture was slouched, relaxed despite the look in his eyes promising a slow, painful death if he had to sit there for much longer.

"I don't see any severe damage, though it might bruise lightly," Recovery Girl concluded. "But if you feel fatigued or nauseous for any reason, come see me immediately. For now, you should rest. And no strenuous exercises or activities. And no heavy meals-"

"Alright, alright, I get it! Don't have fun! Under-f***ing-stood!" he finally snapped, seething against Kirishima's precautionary grip on his shoulder.

"Since when did you ever care about having fun?" Kirishima snarked, earning a withering glare in response.

The tension in the common room seemed to dissipate somewhat, but there was still a lingering feeling a righteous fury floating around the room, figuratively and literally in Uraraka's case, still up on the ceiling with a look in her eyes that could set someone on fire.

"Bakugou," Aizawa spoke, the entire room going silent. Bakugou eyed him incredulously as he huffed. "Do you mind explaining what happened?"

Bakugou looked pointedly away, but Aizawa pushed on. "I already have an idea of what happened, but I want to hear it from you specifically."

Bakugou turned back to him sharply, brows furrowed. "Wait, you know?"

"You were all in perfect sight of a lesser used security camera. The whole thing was recorded. We just don't have the audio."

While Bakugou's expression morphed into that of mild surprise, Ashido let out a high pitch squeal somewhat resembling a laugh and Midoriya involuntarily allowed the brightest grin that Aizawa had ever seen to split his face in half. Aizawa actually had to squint.

It took some coaxing, but Bakugou eventually relented, explaining what happened in an incredible amount of detail. Ashido and Midoriya gave twin looks of shock as he clearly described theirs and Kouda's sides of the story as he'd witness them, as if he'd been paying extra close attention. Aizawa couldn't help but think that the kid should be more careful. His concern was showing.

But that didn't matter, because by the time Bakugou had finished his tale, Aizawa actually felt like he wanted to punch something. How such problems of society got into their school, he didn't know, but that wasn't gonna be a fact for much longer if he had anything to say about. He didn't know what the look in his eyes was saying, but All Might and Mic both seemed genuinely afraid.

Aizawa took a deep breath before standing. "Midoriya, I understand that you were rightfully upset, but I unfortunately can't just not punish you for attacking another student. We have rules for a reason. I promise your punishment will be lenient."

"Okay." Midoriya responded simply, remnants of his earlier smile still clearly present.

"Recovery Girl," Aizawa's voice dropped an octave without him noticing. "Would you happen to know where those boys are?"

Recover Girl gave him an unreadable look. "They were all in my office, last I checked."

Aizawa hardened his gaze, looking back at his students before turning on his heel. "I'll be right back."

The wave of cheering and excitement behind him as he strode out of the building almost put a smile on his face.

"Hey, Jirou,"

Said girl jumped, whirling around to face him with wide eyes in clear disbelief. Sparky let out some kind of bizarre victory screech from the kitchen.

Bakugou scowled. "That is your name, isn't it?"

"Uh..." Earlobes mumbled dumbly. "Yeah? Yeah, that's me."

With a rough sigh, Bakugou settled back into his place on the couch, his arm snaking out from the blanket around his shoulders and aggressively poking at the seat next to him. Earlobes gave him a questioning look, but approached nonetheless.

From what Bakugou had overheard, Aizawa had gone on an absolute warpath, tearing through the halls of U.A. and nearly giving those boys a f***ing heart attack when he barged into the infirmary. He and Midnight led them all to Principal Nezu's office, who easily tore through their arguments with logic, facts, evidence, and a whole heaping ton of common sense. The principal refused to take any of their bulls***, putting Discount Batman on house arrest, suspending Pretty Boy, and expelling Sunglasses altogether. Even though Deku was on classroom cleaning duty for the next week(with a new assigned partner everyday), it was still complete and utter victory for class 1-A. Bakugou was okay with this.

Earlobes sat down tentatively, watching him out of the corner of her eye as if she was expecting him to suddenly lunge at her. Bakugou swallowed any anger bubbling up in his chest and took a deep breath. "I want you to listen closely, 'cause I'm not saying this ever again. Ever."

Earlobes's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but he pressed on. "Listen, I just... Uh... F***ing h***, why is this always so hard!?"

"Take your time." Earlobes snorted. "We really don't need you having an aneurysm."

"Shut up." Bakugou growled. "Just... F*** it. What I'm trying to say is thanks."

From the look on her face, that was probably the last thing she'd expected to come out of his mouth. She seemed flustered, staring in stunned silence as a light red dusting overtook her cheeks. "Wha... I mean, sure, but what the h*** did I do?"

"One," Bakugou started without missing a beat. "You kept Sparky from losing his f***ing mind and told him what's what."

"I mean, he's my friend too, and did you just admit you were worried about him?"

Bakugou chose to completely ignore that comment. "Two, they only found us in time to save me because you heard my explosion."

"Well, yeah. That's my quirk. I just so happened to hear it. I wasn't specifically listening for you."

"And three,"

"Are you even listening to me?"

"As it turns out, you indirectly saved my life."

Jirou stared at him wide eyed, almost terrified. "A- Are you okay?... Are you Toga?"

"Dear lord, shut the f*** up and let me explain, you b****."

She shut her mouth real quick, most likely out of some kind of curiosity rather than anything else. Bakugou sighed. "I had an interesting conversation with Kami a while back about what happened when I keeled over."

He resolutely ignored the way his heart was pounding against his ribcage. "He told me that he'd felt really f***ing helpless for some reason. F***ing idiot. But either way, point is that the only reason he was so determined to bring me back was because of something you said. Apparently, you inspired him or some s***, and as stupid as that sounds, I'd be six feet under right now if that weren't the case, so...f***ing thanks, I guess."

Earlobes remained completely speechless, eyes the size of dinner plates and frozen in a state of utter shock. Bakugou might have been p***ed about such a reaction if he weren't so tired. What time was it again?

Jirou stammered. "I... Well, yeah, sure thing, I guess. You're welcome. Maybe, you know, you could consider us even after I acted like such an a** to you."

Bakugou considered her for a moment, watching as she awkwardly sunk into the couch, hugging her knees and staring off at nothing. He simply hummed. "Maybe."

"So, when did you two become friends?" Sparky cheered, skipping out of the kitchen with an absolute abomination of a sandwich and a soda.

"None of your business, Pikachu!" he immediately shot back, Jirou snorting in response.

Sparky only smiled brighter. "Sure thing, man! So, what movie are we all watching?"

"Not a f***ing rom-com. I literally don't have the stomach for hurling right now."

"So, action then?" Dunce Face suggested.

Bakugou could feel the evil grin forming on his face even before he opened his mouth. "I was thinking horror."

Sparky blanched, Earlobes almost keeling over herself with laughter. "Uh... Are you sure about that? Positive?"

"As a f***ing proton, Dunce Face. A smart film, not the cheap s***, and no backing out, 'cause the deal was that I get to choose the first movie. And that I get the couch, so off, Earlobes!"

"You invited me here!"

"I didn't say you could stay!" he yelled, kicking her to the floor. "Off!"

"Well, aren't we friendly." Black Eyes laughed, Kirishima following close behind. Bakugou only snorted at him, burying himself into his blanket like some kind of cave dweller and glaring at every classmate who dared to come too close to him. For some reason, they all only laughed it off, like he wasn't perfectly capable of incinerating them all or something.

Well, to be fair to them, he didn't exactly appear all that threatening at the moment, wrapped up in his little cocoon. He did make an example out a Flat Face though, booting him off the couch as hard as he could when he tried to sit there. He might have actually bruised him with how hard he hit him.

"Alright, everybody!" Ponytail happily announced. "In celebration of both our classmate's rapidly improving health and proper justice being served out today, Iida is allowing us to stay up past curfew without his complaints this one time. Please do not abuse this privilege, but also be sure to enjoy yourselves tonight!"

The class cheered, Sparky's and Raccoon Eyes's voices raising above the rest as the lights went off, the snacks were brought out and the movie was popped in. As the group settled, Bakugou watched the idiots surrounding him carefully, their excitement simultaneously contagious and unbelievably annoying. He snarled at himself for how stupidly soft he was becoming. He scowled at them, fighting himself on keeping the tough guy act up or using his exhaustion and relatively recent near death experience as excuses.

For some reason that was far beyond him, the latter option won out. "Oi, Idiot Parade."

Said idiot parade turned to him instantly, Bakugou incredibly amused that they actually responded to that now. "Up here. Now."

Their eyes lit up like stars, Kirishima leaping up and landing next to him without hesitation. Sero was a bit more cautious after being sent flying. "You sure, man?"

"Would I say anything if I wasn't?" Bakugou snarled, which was all the invitation they needed to completely surround him, Horns going so far as to dig into his blanket mound and nearly smother him. He'd be getting her back for taking advantage of his generosity later.

For now, this was fine, his idiot...friends, f*** it, invading his personal space like normal and his classmates being annoying and loud like normal and as much as Bakugou told himself he hated it, it was normal.

He'd missed normal.

And so, he'd let it slide just this once, content with being in an environment where people were loud and obnoxious and stupid and cared, where they tolerated him as a person and understood him to some degree, not condemning him for his past mistakes. It was more than he deserved, honestly.

Or was it actually what he deserved, doomed to be annoyed and angry at the constant idiocy he was surrounded by for the rest of his life? He'd be working with these maniacs in the future, after all.

Funny how life worked that way.

Thank you so very much, guys! I hope to see you in the next one and thank you for taking the time to read my work! It really means a lot to me!

Plus Ultra!

~AnonymousTwit