Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Character Info:

Looks- Runa is 5'4, pale with long wavy black hair. She has green eyes and freckles across her cheeks and nose. She has an alternative style and wears makeup most days.

Quirk- Her quirk is called Dreamwalker. When she's sleeping, she can enter other's dreams (or minds if they are awake) and walk around/interact with things and others. She can even manipulate the dream to her will, good or bad. This makes it so she's best at recon missions because she can sleep and enter minds of those they need info from. When awake, she can put opponents into a sleeplike trance and talk to them/control them. She just needs to get them to talk to her long enough. Because of this, she tends to be very witty and quick to make digs in order to make her opponents talk to her. The drawbacks of her quirk are that she cannot always get them to talk enough so she had to learn close combat techniques well to make up for it. If she controls opponents for too long, she can get headaches and nosebleeds.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

I've always wanted to be a hero. It's what I've wanted since the night I discovered my quirk when I was 4. I made a plan for myself. I'd work hard with my best friend, Izuku and we'd be good enough heroes to make it into UA. Unfortunately, that day never came for him. I still remember the look on his face when he came running through my bedroom door to tell me the doctor said he'd never get a quirk.

Runa 4 y/o

I was sitting in the purple bean bag chair in my room, watching the movie Enchanted when I heard the sound of footsteps running straight for my room. My door swings open and hits the wall with a bang. The sound made me jump and I look up to see teary eyes.

"Izuku?"

"Runa! They said I- I'm quirkless..."

My eyes went wide and I didn't know what to say. I was only four after all. So I did the only thing I knew to do– I opened my arms. Once again, little feet pattered across my room and he falls onto the beanbag with me. I give him the best hug my little arms could offer as he cried.

Current Time

I lay sprawled across my bed, holding my phone up in the air. Come on Izuku, where are you? Answer the goddamn phone! As if he heard me cursing out to him, I hear a knock from the front door. I jump out of bed and race down the stairs and to the front door, not wanting to wait any longer. Slightly out of breath, I open the front door, Izuku is standing on the other side, nerves etched into his face. In his hand, he holds an envelope-- THE envelope.

I reach for his arm and yank him through the front door.

"Runa! Wha-"

"Hurry up Izuku! I've already been waiting FOREVER to open mine!"

"It's only been an hour!" He yells as I drag him up the stairs.

"Yeah, that's an hour too long Izuku!"

I pull him into my room and we both collapse down onto my bed. I reach over to my nightstand and grab my envelope. With our letters in our shaky hands, we sigh and look at each other. Anxiety is written across both of our faces, Izuku's definitely worse than mine.

"Ru- Runa you go first...I can't," Izuku says hiding his face with his hands.

"Oh...okay. Yeah." I carefully open my envelope and pull out a round disc. I set it down on my bed and a projection of All Might appears.

"Hello young Hanamura! I AM HERE as a projection! Congratulations young lady! You passed the written and practical exams with flying colors! Welcome, Hanamura, you are now a part of the hero academia! We'll be seeing you soon!"

"Oh...oh my god..." I say to myself, so quiet it could be a whisper. "Oh my god! Izuku... OH MY GOD, IZUKU! I DID IT!" I jump into his arms and tackle him down onto the bed. We both fall into a fit of giggles. The small disc goes flying off the edge of the bed during all the frenzy.

"You did it! That's so amazing Runa!" Izuku beams.

After a few moments, I go stiff. I put my hands on Izuku's chest in order to push myself off of him a bit. He looks at me, a little puzzled.

"Quit looking at me like that dummy, it's your turn. Hurry! Go grab it!" I give him a smile and roll off so I can give him the room to grab it. He starts lifting blankets in search of it and I chuckle.

"Where did it go? He mumbles quietly to himself with a furrowed brow. "Runa you really need to reign in this blanket obsession. You tackled me and it just disappeared into the mountain of blankets you call a "cozy sanctuary"."

I chuckle a bit and look at him hunched over looking for the small disc. When he finally finds it, he goes, "Ah ha! Found it!"

He slowly climbs off the pile of blankets and makes his way back to me, sitting crisscross on the bed. He holds the circular disc in his big hands, making it look tiny. His thumbs rub small, slow circles around it, which tells me he's nervous. I raise my head, eyes searching for his but his don't do the same. I bump his thigh with my knee which draws his anxious eyes to mine.

"It's gonna be okay. Whether you make it or not, I'll always be here." I say reassuringly. I clear my throat, worried I said the wrong thing. "Not that I think you didn't make it. You definitely did. Of course you did! They'd be a huge group of losers if they didn't accept you."

A small smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. With shaky hands, he places the disc onto the bed, just as I had done minutes ago. Izuku lets out a shaky breath and a familiar projection appears in front of us.

"Hello young Midoriya! I AM HERE as a projection! Congratulations young man, for you have passed the written and practical exams! You showed quite an impressive amount of promise that will soon benefit our support course. Welcome, Midoriya, you are now a part of the hero academia! See you soon!"

The projection disappears and he lets out the breath he had been holding in since it started. I look over at him, green eyes colliding. Neither one of us dares to say a word for what felt like forever. The look on his face left me confused and not knowing what to do. Just when I thought I would pass away from the uncomfortable silence, the corner of Izuku's mouth lifts up just a smidge and he lets out the smallest chuckle. Relief washed over me and I took that as my sign to say what I had been holding in, though screamed would have been the more accurate word...

"Oh my god Izuku! I knew you could do it!"

I squealed and threw myself onto him again, just like I had done moments before. We go crashing back and both fall into a fit of laughter, excited beyond words.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

A short while later, we found ourselves sitting at the kitchen table with my family. We're seated at a rectangular table with 6 chairs. There's only five people in my family but Izuku is here more often than not, so he's considered family. At the ends of the table sit my parents, next to me is Izuku, and across from us are my two younger siblings, Haru and Mio.

We sit in a comfortable silence, eating the delicious food my mom made. She makes the best Mapo Tofu I've ever eaten and no one could show her up. I look over at my best friend and hide the smile that's creeping on my face. Izuku is eating with a smile, but I know he's going through it right now-- the sweat dripping down his temple tells me everything I need to know. Izuku has never been able to handle a lot of spice. Not like me at least, but he would never tell my mom that. He'd rather suffer in silence than admit to my mom that it's too spicy. He's just too sweet to do so.

"Izuku sweetie, are you doing alright?"

"Of course Auntie, the food is great as always." Izuku swallows with a pained smile and I try even harder to hide the smile that's forming on my lips.

"How's your mom doing? I've been so busy, I haven't had the chance to catch up with her in a while."

"She's good. She's been busy with work as well. She asked about you the other day actually. I'm sure she's grateful that I'm over here for dinner so she can get a night off from cooking." He smiles warmly at her.

"Oh, I'm sure." She chuckles.

Unable to bring up the topic in a normal fashion like a normal person, I blurt out, "I made it into UA!"

My parents drop their silverware and my siblings look up at me, slowly chewing their food, eyes wide.

"Are you serious?!" My mom says with excitement. I nod, barely able to hide the smile that wants to come out. She stands up so quickly that the chair screeches across the floor and makes her way to me. Her arms make their way around me from behind and feel myself lean my head onto them slightly. "That's amazing pumpkin!" I'm not always good with physical touch but I reciprocate in my own, small ways. Sometimes my emotions get the better of me and I pull what I did with poor Izuku but he's never seemed to mind. He was always the cuddly one of the two of us.

"Congratulations, sweetheart, you deserve it." My dad sports a small smile and nods his head. He's always been a man of few words, but to me, that just means he means what he says. I look over to my siblings to see them smiling at me.

"That's big Runa, congrats." My little brother says with a smile, closely resembling our father's. Haru too is a boy of few words, but speaks up when it matters.

"Yayyyy sissy!" My little sister beams. She's the complete opposite of Haru and I in almost every way. I'm not sure if it's her personality or her age but it's nice all the same.

Not wanting to steal the spotlight any longer, I nudge Izuku with my shoulder and smile, "I'm not the only one..."

My mom loses it all over again and moves to him to give him a big hug. He laughs and hugs her back tightly. "Thanks Auntie." More congratulations make their way around the dinner table and I look over at Izuku who is still beaming. Seeing his smile warms my heart and I can't help but smile too. He's wanted this for so long, we both have. He may not be in the hero course alongside me, but we both get to go to UA and do what we love.

Chapter Text

A couple days have passed and I find myself in Izuku’s bedroom this time. The walls are covered in anything and everything All Might, which seems extreme and to be honest, it is. Despite not being able to be a hero himself, he never stopped loving his favorite and hoped he could change peoples lives in his own way, just as All Might had done for many.

We lay side by side on our stomachs across his bed with notebooks and a dozen different pens scattered in front of us. Izuku is working on his hero costume, pen scribbling on paper, his tongue slightly sticking out. Since he’s a support course student, he doesn’t need one but I think making this costume is just another way for him to not let go of his dream, not just yet.

I chuckle at the sight, “Looks good Izu.” I tip my head to the side, studying the image. “Though I’m not too sure what you’re going for.”

On his paper is a mock up of his hero suit. It's a full-body jumpsuit that is a pretty shade of green, with white decals running down his sides. His mask is what confuses me so I study it a little harder as he works. It has tall protrusions at the top of his head, almost resembling a bunny, yet something tells me that it's supposed to resemble All Might's hair in some way. Making my way down, I spot what I'm assuming to be a respirator which is obviously a huge All Might grin. This boy really loves All Might, so much so his entire costume is modeled after him in some sort of way... His costume has black knee and elbow pads and a red belt with pouches to hold whatever gadgets he's planning on keeping in there. And of course, those silly red shoes that he can never seem to leave behind.

Taking my attention off of Izuku, I look at my own paper which is, well blank. I've had my whole life to think of what I wanted my hero suit to look like, but now that it's actually time for me to design one, I keep coming up short.

About an hour ago:

"What about this?"

"That looks way too emo Ru."

"What if I j-"

Izuku cuts me off, "You're not even trying to personalize it. It's like you don't even want to." I try to interject but I know better and sigh. "Your hero suit should reflect who you are, or who you want to be. Black cargo pants and a black skin tight top isn't YOU. Put your own kind of spin on it Ru, I know you can do it."

Annoyed, I grunt and slide off of the bed. Leaning down, I grab my notebook, tear off the page and crumple it up. Half assed, I toss it across the room and to no surprise, it comes short of the trash can I was barely aiming at.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Starting over, yet again, I look at the naked model staring back at me as if it's just waiting for me to do something.

"Still struggling?" Izuku asks quietly.

I let out a huge sigh. "Yeah. I just don't even know where to start. You've had that drawing in your notebook as long as I can remember. You've always known what you wanted. I envy you for that."

Izuku pushes off his bed with his hands in order to sit up. Joining me sitting at the edge of the bed, he elbows me and smiles. "Come on. Don't be like that. You know what you want. We've talked about it a million times growing up."

"You can't be serious. I am NOT doing that." I stared at Izuku like he had spontaneously grown another head.

"Runa, it's not as bad as you're thinking. It would look so good. Sure, you drew it when you were younger but it doesn't mean it's bad. Just try to make it...better, more updated." He lets out a puff of air that could almost be a laugh.

"See, now you're laughing at me!" I cover my face with my hands.

"I'm not!" Izuku hurries to say, while trying to hide his laughter.

"I'm out of here." I get up to start grabbing my things and I shove everything in my backpack.

"Runa, come on. It's not like that." He jumps off the bed and hurries after me.

"I know Izu, I just need to go home. Thanks for your help.. see you tomorrow."

I close Izuku's door and I hear him quietly say bye. I make my way through the hallway and see his mom standing in the kitchen cooking, her back turned to me.

"Bye Auntie, I'll see you soon." I say with a smile.

Calling out from the kitchen, "Oh leaving already? You don't want to stay for dinner?" 

"That's okay. I need to head home. Thanks though. Love you."

"Love you too sweetie. Come over more often, you know you're always welcome."

Hand on the front door, I smile and nod. After a short pause, I make my way out and softly close the door behind me and lock it.

As I make my way home, all I can think about is what Izuku said to me. Your hero suit should reflect who you are, or who you want to be. I shake my head trying to dissolve the thought. "Okay, I'll do it." I say aloud even though only the stars could hear me.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Later that night, I'm sitting at my desk, once again staring at the blank piece of paper. I reach down with my left hand to open a drawer of my desk and retrieve my art supplies. I slowly open the zipper, picking out a colored pencil and get to work.

An hour or so later, I set the last pencil down and let out a huge breath. I stare at the image I just made and can't help but smile. Damn Izuku. He was right. I'm so never hearing the end of it when he sees my suit. Not wanting to be up another minute, I put all my supplies away and close my notebook. I get my school uniform out from my closet and lay it on the back of my desk chair.

Shuffling over, I flop onto my bed and settle in, getting under my so called blanket fortress. I turn on my projector and stare up at all the stars and constellations adorning my walls and ceiling. Finally at peace, I close my eyes and hope tomorrow is a good day.

Chapter Text

Waking me up from the sick ass dream I was having, my alarm pierces my poor ears. I groan and throw my arm over my dresser, feeling blindly for my phone. Peeking with one eye, I harshly press the screen in hopes of turning the loud sound off. I miss the first time and groan again, opening my other eye. I successfully turn off my alarm and check the time. It's 6:00 am. God it's too early for this shit. Take me back to spring vacation. It wasn't long enough.

I throw my blankets over and off my body, letting the cool air hit my skin causing me to shiver. As I throw my legs over the side of the bed, I fantasize about crawling back into the warmth and getting some more sleep. No, it's my first day of high school, I need to look hot. Knowing Izuku, he'll be here soon, waiting to walk with me harnessing entirely too much energy for a Monday morning.

I make my way into my en-suite bathroom, courtesy of being the oldest sibling, and go turn on the shower. Shuffling over to my bathroom sink, I look at myself in the mirror and flinch. Yikes. My hair is tangled and I have sleep lines carved into my pale face, giving it some color.

I grab a towel, plop it down onto the counter, and slide open the shower door. I step inside, the scalding water hits my cool skin and I sign in relief. I shampoo and condition my long black hair, then grab a claw clip to get it off my back. I move to exfoliate and wash my body, the sweet smell of vanilla hitting my nose. I've always been a sucker for anything vanilla scented.

I finish up and reach for the handle to turn off the water. I open the shower door and step out, cool air greeting me yet again and a small shiver rakes through my body. I wrap myself in the towel I set aside earlier and make my way to the sink to brush my teeth.

Once I finished that up, I headed into my bedroom and plopped down onto the stool of my vanity. There, I did my skincare routine then blow-dried, and styled my hair. My hair always seems to take me the longest because there's just so much of it. Nowadays, it sits right above my butt, sometimes tickling my lower back depending on what I'm wearing.

As I go to stand and change into my school uniform, I hear the front door loudly close, signaling that Izuku is here. God he could at least give me a heads up. I shoot him a text letting him know that I need a few minutes to change, then he can come in.

Once all my clothes are on, I walk over to my door in order to let him know it's okay to come in. I can hear him downstairs talking to my mother through my cracked door. I sit back down at my vanity to start on my makeup.

A few minutes later, I hear his footsteps slowly make their way up the stairs and I hear them stop at my door. A brief second passes, and I assume he got the memo because my bedroom door opens shortly after and he walks in, making his way to sit on the edge of my bed.

"Morning." I say quietly, looking at him through the mirror of my vanity.

He gives me a small smile and rubs the back of his neck with his hand, "Sorry I'm so early. I just wanted to get out of the house before my mom could let out any more tears."

I wince at the thought and he chuckles. "Yeah it was a little suffocating. I gave her a kiss and basically ran out the door."

Finally letting out a chuckle of my own, his shoulders seem to relax. "Yep, been around those tears enough times myself."

By that point I had just finished my base and start to work on my eye makeup.

"What are we going for today? The usual?" Izuku chirps up.

"Yeah, nothing crazy. Just wanna look cute and definitely not like I tried too hard."

I finish both sides of my eyeliner and I reach for a small brush to smudge it out a little, the lines way too clean for the look I'm going for.

I pop a little bit of shimmery silver eyeshadow on the inner corners and under my brows to contrast all the black I just put on my eyes. I meticulously apply my falsies, still a chore after years of doing it. I was a fool to assume it would get any easier after time.

I take a peek at Izuku through my mirror to check on him and he's smiling at his phone, probably watching a reel by the sound radiating from his phone speaker.

Ruffling through a drawer in my vanity for what felt like forever, I finally find the lip gloss I was looking for. I apply the black cherry tinted lip gloss to my lips, rub them together a little, then open them with a little pop. Perfect. I give myself a little once over, making sure everything looks okay.

"Too much?" I ask nervously as I turn my body to look at him.

"Never. Pretty as always Ru." he says with a smile. "Ready to go downstairs?"

I nod and reach for my backpack which is hanging off the back of my desk chair. We make our way downstairs and into the kitchen, finding my mom standing by the island.

"Good morning Pumpkin." She chirps eagerly. "Want some breakfast? I made some cinnamon sugar oatmeal."

Excited because it's one of my absolute favorites, "OMG yes. Thanks mom, you're the best!"

"Want some sweetie? You got here pretty early so I doubt you ate anything yet." She looks at Izuku and he nods with a smile.

"Thanks Auntie. I kinda rushed out the door this morning. Mom was being... well Mom." He rubs nervously at the back of his neck for the second time this morning, a big habit of his.

"Anytime Izuku. Yeah I know what you mean." She chuckles lightly, no doubt thinking about her best friend crying next door.

Talking with my mom about the day ahead of us, we sit around the table, the three of us eating breakfast.

Not long after, we finish up our food and I move to grab all of our bowls, but my mom beats me to it. I give her a look and she laughs.

"It's your first day, get a move on. Maybe you can get there a little early to look around."

Letting out a huge sigh, I get up from the table to grab my things, Izuku just behind me.

Begrudgingly, I walk to the front door and call out to my mom, "Bye mom, love you!"

"Bye Pumpkin! Bye Izuku! Get there safe!"

"We will! Bye Auntie, love you too!"

I open the door and head outside, Izuku on my heels. He closes the door and and we make our way down the sidewalk in the direction of the subway.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Before we knew it, we were standing just outside the gates of UA. Noticing Izuku start to fall behind me, I come to a stop and wait for him to catch up. He stops next to me and for whatever reason, will not take his eyes off the ground as if they are glued there.

"Izu?" No response. "Izuuuu?" Still no response. I turn and place my hands on his shoulders and lightly squeeze. "Izuku!"

"Huh? WHat?!" He snaps out of it and his eyes meet mine.

"You're gonna be okay." I tilt my head a bit and smile but he doesn't return it. "I mean it. Everyone is gonna love you. You'll make so many friends! What's not to love?" I flash him another warm smile and he finally returns it, as half assed as it was.

Hooking my arm through his, we make our way down the front path and inside. Thankfully, there are signs posted in the entry way with directions based on what course we are in. Izuku needs to go right and I need to go left.

Sensing the anxiety still emanating from him, I grip him a little tighter. "Alright I'm walking you to class." I say with a shrug.

"Ru- Runa, NO."

"Yes."

"Absolutely not. I'm not five."

"You're shaking like it."

He shoots me a glare and I tip my head back to laugh. "Come on Izu. Friends walk each other to class all the time."

"You'll be late."

"Not if we hurry."

He sighs and starts to walk and I smile because I won.

Sounding annoyed, "I can literally feel you smiling."

"Shut up Izu, let's go."

We walk through the hallways, following the signs and eventually stop short just before his class.

"You'll be great. Just be you. You'll show them up, I'm sure of it. There's so many cool ideas swirling around in that brain of yours."

"Runa."

I lean in close so only he can hear me, "All Might himself even said so. Are you really gonna call him a liar?"

He tenses next to me and I laugh again. "Go on, meet me at the entrance at the end of the day and we can go home together."

I release him and turn to face him. He gives me a nervous smile and waves as he turns away and walks inside. "They grow up so fast." I fake sniffle and I see him pause for a second and continue walking in, making me chuckle.

Turning on my heels, I make my way back the same way I came. The main hallway comes into view letting me know I didn't get lost. Yet again, I follow the signs but for my own classroom. 

Looking up, I see the sign for the classroom 1A. I look at my phone to check the time and see I have five minutes until class starts so I pick up my pace and make my way to the door. I place my hand on the door handle and I take a deep breath in. Letting the breath out, I nod and pull the door open.

When I open the door, the classroom is filled to the brim with students, most of them I've never seen before except for the few I shared my exam with. By the looks of it, I'm the last one in and there's only one spot left. Passing a couple desks, I make my way to the last seat which is behind some blonde guy.

Right as I start to pass his desk, he looks up and piercing red eyes meet my green ones. My stomach drops and my world goes cold. Not wanting to make a scene, I break the eye contact and sit in my seat. My bag hits the floor and my breathing starts to pick up. Of course he's here. Why wouldn't he be? 

As much as I hate to admit it, Bakugo is good, insanely good. If only he wasn't such an ass, he'd be more likable. Maybe we would even be friends. Probably not. I had a feeling he'd be here but I guess some part of me hoped he wouldn't make it and I would be spared from his torment.

Runa 14 y/o:

It's the end of the school day and I'm making my way back from the bathroom. Izuku said he'd wait for me in the classroom. I round the corner and I hear laughing. 'His' laugh. I pick up my pace because I already know who's on the receiving end.

By the time I make it to the door I hear Bakugo's "minions" talking.

"He finally gets it, he'll never be a hero."

"Better to find out now instead of later I guess."

I stop just outside the door and I go to open it but what I heard makes me freeze in my tracks.

"You know, if you really want to be a hero that badly, there actually might be another way. Just pray that you'll be born with a quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off the roof of the building."

Angrier than I've been in a while, I yank the door open and look Bakugo dead in the eyes.

"What do YOU want witch?"

"I KNOW I did not just hear you say that to him."

I look over at Izuku and see him facing out the window, no doubt on the verge of tears.

Bakugo just shrugs and it makes my blood boil.

"I know you're an asshole but telling him to kill himself is too far Katsuki and you know it!"

"Tch. Whatever, the nerd's a loser. And don't call me Katsuki like we're friends."

"We used to be..."

His crimson eyes are locked onto mine as if staring at me will make me cower.

"Staring at me won't do shit. I'm not scared of you, I'm not Izuku."

He angrily looks away and shoves my shoulder with his as he walks away. His lackeys follow behind, refusing to look at me.

I run to comfort Izuku but the damage was already done. Tears were silently falling down his face as he looked out the window, eyes on the water below.

"Let's go home." I say as I grab his stuff noticing his notebook is gone. He has yet to look in my direction and my guess is that it's somewhere out that window, considering the small bits of ash resting on his desk.

I hook my arm into his and lead him out the classroom and to the exit to get his book then make our way home. Not a single word was spoken the whole way home.

Present Time:

I close my eyes in order to collect myself, though the task at hand is not as easy as it sounds, considering I'm staring at the back of the cause's head.

Younger me would have loved this. The me before Bakugo decided to act like we were never friends in the first place. The me before he started terrorizing Izuku. The me that thought we'd be friends forever, or even something more than that.

That idea is revolting now. My stomach turns at the thought. 

This is SO not gonna be good.

Chapter Text

Pulling me from my thoughts, I receive a tap on the shoulder. I look up and see a girl standing in front of me, looking somewhat familiar. I study her for a bit, trying to think of how I know her,  then it comes to me.

"You're the girl from the exam right? You uh float stuff?"

"Oh yeah, that's me. Ochako Uraraka." She says with a slight blush.

"Cool, I'm Runa Hanamura. Just call me Runa though." I give her a small smile and she seems to ease up a bit.

Before I know it, another girl comes up to me. She's beautiful and really cool looking. You definitely don't see many girls like her around.

Putting her hand out with a huge grin, "Mina Ashido. Girl can I just say, your makeup is sooo cute!"

"Omg stop..." I say, blush beginning to creep. I'm thanking the makeup gods that my foundation is full coverage. "You're gorgeous."

She giggles and pops her hip out a little, her hands behind her back, "Right back at ya."

She begins to introduce me to two more girls, which would usually have my full focus if it weren't for the lingering gaze piercing my back.

I peek over my shoulder and catch him looking at me. Our eyes meet for no longer than a second before he scowls and looks away, his arms crossing over his chest.

I roll my eyes and redirect my focus back over to Mina who is talking to Jirou and Hagakare, Ochako already having made her way back to her seat.

I hear the door open and close, so I look over, but don't see anyone appear. Confused, I look around to see if maybe someone had left but everyone is here. What th-

"If you're just here to make friends, then you should pack up your things now." My thoughts come to a halt when I see a strange man lying on the floor in a yellow sleeping bag, the voice seemingly coming from him.

The four of us stare at the man in slight horror as he talks from the floor, safely wrapped in his cocoon. 

In the most monotone voice I have ever heard, he says, "Welcome to UA's hero course."

The zipper of his sleeping bag is brought down a couple inches, revealing what I'm assuming is apple sauce? He drinks it all, crumpling the small thing in his large hands.

Before we know it, the strange man is starting to stand and drones on about how time is precious and how we didn't shut up fast enough. Usually I'd be offended but I'm just too damn confused.

"Hello, I'm Shota Aizawa. Your teacher." My eyes widen at the news. He slowly brings the zipper down and steps out, revealing himself. He's a good enough looking man, but it looks like he gave up on shaving and possibly went a couple nights without sleep. Seems surprising considering he just came out of a sleeping bag. Well this is going to be interesting...

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Before I know it, we're all standing outside on a field in our training outfits. I'm pretty sure we're supposed to be heading to our beginning of the year ceremony but from the looks of it, I don't think we'll be making it and our new teacher doesn't care one bit. Not that I particularly care either.

"What about orientation? We're gonna miss it!" Ochako pipes in, sounding a little worried.

Our teacher, seemingly making of habit of not giving a fuck, basically claims the ceremonies are for losers and if we actually want to make it as heroes, we need to forget about them. Well this guy sure is charming...

In that same monotonous tone, "Here at UA, we don't have to follow the same guidelines as other schools, so I can run my class any way I see fit. Skipping the ceremony being part of that. Today we're going to be doing quirk assessments." Reaching for the phone in his pocket and turning it on, he says, "You've been used to taking standardized tests all your lives. Today, you're going to be using your quirks instead."

Quiet murmurs spread across our group, everyone looking around at one another.

"Bakugo, you got the highest score on the entrance exam." He looks up, slightly confused. "What was the farthest distance throw for softball you could manage back in junior high?"

His raspy voice adds, "Sixty-seven meters, I think." Which causes me to flinch.

Just hearing his voice makes me uneasy, but I guess I'm going to have to get used to it considering I'm stuck with him again for the next three years.

"Alright, now do it with your quirk. Anything goes." Bakugo looks over at him and our teacher sounding extremely annoyed, rushes him to get started.

"Alright man, you asked for it." Cocky bastard...

He stretches for a second then cocks his arm back as far as it can go. With a loud grunt, he throws the ball as hard as he can, his quirk activating at the last second, which sends it flying until we can't see it anymore.

Our teacher turns the screen around revealing the score, 705 meters. Everyone gasps and I sigh because I already know that it's going to go straight to his head. Shortly after, everyone starts getting excited and multiple people show interest in wanting to go next. My quirk unfortunately won't help me in this scenario so I refrain from making a peep so I don't get chosen.

Sadly, that doesn't work because he adds that not only are we all doing this, we have seven other tests to do as well. He claims that whoever comes in last will be expelled. Something makes me believe that's not true but regardless I'll try my best in order to avoid that fate.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

A long while later, the eight tests had concluded, leaving me feeling a little wiped. I'd like to think I did alright but seeing how everyone's quirks seemed to help them in some way, except for me, I'm a little worried. I'm a pretty decent runner and a good close combat fighter, but my quirk won't really help me with something like this so I had to rely on my own endurance.

While our teacher finished scoring us, I found myself lost in thought, worrying about the outcome. Would I come in last? I don't think I did terrible. I'm sure there's at least someone who did worse than I did.

Saving me from myself, a friendly face showed up and greeted me just like earlier this morning, "Runa! You killed it girl!"

"Are we talking about the same person?"

"Oh stop. You did great. You did like twice as many sit ups as me. You gotta be hiding some abs under that uniform!" Mina giggled and I chuckled shyly, rubbing circles on my hands to soothe the nerves. "Sure, you might not have been able to use your quirk to help you today, but it doesn't mean you did bad. What is your quirk anyways?"

"Oh it's called Dreamwalker. I can-"

"Alright, the results are ready. Everyone listen up." All the conversations came to an abrupt halt as our teacher spoke up. "I ranked you all from best to worst. You should already have a good idea of where you stand but regardless, here's the list."

Scared to look, I wait my turn patiently and let everyone else go first. When it's my turn, I slowly walk up and look at the screen. Scanning though the list, I make my way down and see that I made 18th place. Thank God...

I make my way back over to Mina, Jirou having joined her. "I guess I didn't fail? I feel bad for whoever that Shinso guy is though. Yikes."

"You're telling me." Jirou adds.

Out of nowhere our teacher beings to speak up. "Oh and by the way. I lied, no one is going home. I just didn't want you to slack off and not give it your all."

Everyone's eyes go wide and I can see a guy, weirdly resembling our teacher in the back, his shoulders seemingly relax. He must be Shinso. I've always been good at reading body language and thank God for that because that guys face is unreadable.

"That's it, were done for the day. Pick up a syllabus when you get back and have it read by tomorrow morning." Our teacher turns his back and slowly walks away in the direction of the school building.

Everyone starts making their way back to the school, but I fall behind a bit, wanting to get some space from all the people. Being around a ton of people had never been my favorite. I slide my hands into my pockets, my eyes on my feet as I slowly make my way. 

"I'm surprised you weren't last. I guess you got lucky."

I come to a stop, my body tensing. I let out a breath and turn around to find Bakugo standing behind me.

"What do you want Bakugo?"

"Why are you here?"

I let out a large sigh, my patience already thinning. "Same reason you are."

"Tch. You're never gonna make it. Not with that quirk." A smirk starts to pull on his mouth and it makes me want to rip it off of his smug face.

"Listen, I don't have time for this. Let's just get to class." I turn to walk away and a warm hand grabs at my wrist.

"Don't walk away when I'm talking to you Runa," he sneers.

"Just leave me alone. I'm not gonna take shit from anyone, especially not you."

"You should get out while you still can. Your quirk is useless, you'll never be a hero."

All patience gone, I let my anger get the best of me. "You weren't saying that when I was helping with your nightmares!" He goes still, his grip slightly tightening. Not having it, I rip my arm from his, heat still emanating from the spot where he touched me. "In fact, I'm pretty sure you loved my quirk, before you fucked off, that is."

Chest rising and falling, Bakugo stares into my eyes for a beat before yelling, "I never wanted or asked for your help!"

"We both know that's a lie, Bakugo."

He glares at me once again and takes a couple steps towards me, his face inches away from mine. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Sounding as defeated as I felt, I say, "Whatever you say. Just stay away from me. It doesn't need to be like this. Just because Izuku isn't here, it doesn't mean I'm gonna be your new punching bag."

I turn on my heels and walk back to school, not turning back to see the angry boy behind me.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

By the time I make it back inside, everyone had already cleared out aside from Mina and Jirou. Sensing me walk in, they slide off the desks they were sitting on and make their way over to me.

"Girl, what happened? One minute you were right next to me, then the next second you weren't. I turn to look and your talking to that Bakugo guy. I don't know what happened but he didn't look very happy. What's up with that?"

I let out a fat sigh and answer her honestly, something inside me telling me I can trust these girls despite only knowing them for a couple of hours. "Long story short, he's my old childhood best friend, turned enemy I guess you could say. There were three of us until he did a big fat 180 on us and started acting like we didn't exist. Before we knew it, it got worse and he started bullying our other friend. He's actually here with us at UA. He's in the support course."

"Damn, that's rough. What an ass," Jirou adds, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Yeah girl, that's so not cool." Mina says with a huff.

I shrug, already over the situation. "It's whatever to be honest. I'm used to his bullshit and I already set him straight. I just hopes he takes the hint and leaves me alone in this class."

Wanting to be done with this conversation, I turn and go to leave. With my body still facing the door, I turn my head back towards them. "I'm gonna take a quick shower then meet my friend, wanna tag along?"

Both girls nod and grab their bags to join me. We hit up the girls locker room to shower and change back into our school uniforms. Once we finish, we make our way to the front entrance of the school. Izuku comes into view and I see him leaning against the wall, looking down at his phone.

"Izuku!" His head springs up and he smiles at me. He gives me a small wave as he makes his way over to me and the girls.

"Hey Runa."

"This is Mina and Jirou." I gesture towards them with my head accordingly.

"Oh hey.." Izuku nervously smiles and I can tell he's two seconds away from curling into himself.

"Nice to meet you Izuku!" Mina tips her head to the side and flashes him a big smile.

"Yeah same," Jirou says with a nod.

We all stand around and talk for a little while before I get a look from Izuku letting me know it's time to go. We all say our goodbyes and go our separate ways. Once the girls are out of earshot, I turn to Izuku. "You won't believe what happened to me today." He gives me an inquisitive look, surely picking up on the tone of my voice. 

Chapter Text

Needing to get as far away from the school as quickly as possible, I take Izuku's hand and pull him to walk with me. I didn't want to be near anyone at school in the off chance of them overhearing us. I don't know what anyone looks like from his class and Izuku doesn't need anyone knowing about his past unless he chooses to tell them. We were maybe halfway from the station when I finally spoke.

"Katsuki is in my class Izuku."

Izuku's eyes go wide and his head spins to look at me so fast I thought his head would come off. "What?!"

"Yeah... I mean I was dumb for even thinking it wouldn't happen."

I clasp my hands together in front of my body, while keeping my eyes glued to the ground as we walked. Izuku takes notice and I feel a warm hand come onto my shoulder followed by a small squeeze.

"I mean, you couldn't have known, really...," he says softly.

"As much as he is an asshole, we both know he's really strong...of course he made it in and not only that but made it into the best class..."

"So did anything happen?"

I glance over at him and the look on his face tells me he was scared for the answer. This conversation is as uncomfortable for him, as it is for me and it sucks. Guilt starts to wash over me and I want to tell him no to ease his nerves, but he's my best friend. He'd see right through me.

By this point, we had made it to the station and we just had to wait for the train to get here. He leads us to an empty bench pressed up against the wall. Hundreds of people were walking by in different directions. I quiet my voice in order to keep our conversation between us.

"This is where it get's interesting...," I say softly.

Izuku just looks at me.

"At first all he did was look at me. He didn't say a WORD Izu."

He scrunches his brows and begins to fiddle with his hands in his lap anxiously.

"He kept looking at me in class. I could literally feel his eyes searing into my back."

"What? Really?"

Knowing him, he was thinking of all the things Bakugo could have been thinking and for some reason, that pulls at my heart strings. After all these years, he still cares about him despite all the things that were done to him by the one person who was supposed to be his best friend. The very hands that hurt him were supposed to be the hands that cared for him...and for me. I force myself to shake away those thoughts and bring my attention back to the boy who was actually here.

"I know right? And it gets worse." I cover my face with my hands as if that would help me hide from wherever this conversation is going. "He deadass picked a fight with me at the end of class. I don't know why he did it, but he had no reason to. I barely even looked at him all day."

"That's..."

I can tell Izuku is at a loss for words because same. I can't even begin to comprehend what happened today, much less figure out the why.

"I know. I can't say I'm surprised, but I guess a small part of me thought or well...hoped he'd just move on and we could put it all behind us. I know we'd never be friends again but we could at least be civil. I guess that was dumb."

"It wasn't and I'm sorry Runa."

Izuku takes my hand in his and brings it into his lap. He places his other free hand on top and leans his head on my shoulder.

I let out a huge sigh and place my head on top of his. "It's whatever Izu. I just hope tomorrow is better."

"Me too."

I let out a frustrated breath. "This blows..."

Saving me from a possible spiral, the train arrives and we get up to make our way over. Keeping my arm hooked through his so we don't get separated, we make our way on and find a spot. Thankfully, there was one seat left. He insists I take it so I do because if I fight him on it, he'd probably just push me down anyways. The thought makes me chuckle to myself a bit. He stands right in front of me and holds on to the bar hanging from the ceiling. We settle into a comfortable silence as we make our way home.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The next morning is nothing exciting. We have homeroom as normal then go to lunch. Surprisingly, the food is really good. I've never had much luck when it came to school lunches but I think I'll be swayed to eat the food here from now on.

I'm sitting at a table with Mina, Jirou, and a guy named Denki. He's a little bit of an airhead but he's super chill. I hope to see more of him as the school year goes on. By the looks of it, he totally has the hots for Jirou but I'm not the type to dig into something like that, so I just store that information away for later. A small smile pulls at my mouth and I hide it by taking another bite of food.

I swallow my food and look up towards my new friends. "So are you guys ready for our afternoon class?"

"Heck yeah! DUDE we get to meet All Might! Who wouldn't be excited?" Denki looks like he's two seconds away from climbing onto our lunch table and it makes us all laugh. He knocks over his thankfully closed juice in the process and it made me cover my bowl of rice with my hands. I let out a sigh of relief and look over at Jirou who is rolling her eyes.

"Denki, you almost turned our table into a slip n slide with your juice."

"Whoops! Sorry!" He was definitely not sorry... I chuckle and look to Mina. "What about you?"

"Yeah girl, I'm super excited! He's so cool." She flashes a big smile then bring her hand to her chin as if she's thinking. "I wonder if he's really that tall or it just looks that way on camera."

I laugh and respond, "I mean, I guess we'll find out in a few minutes. He's still massive regardless."

The bell signaling lunch is over goes off and we all clean up the table and grab our things. We put our trays on the pile and make our way back to our classroom. We all filter into the classroom and find our way to our desks. Since we still have a good few minutes until class starts, I plop down onto Denki's desk instead so I can be near my friends. I swing my legs back and forth as we all talk about what to expect in class today.

I hear that familiar chime and head back to my own desk before I get caught by All Might himself. That would be so embarrassing.

"I am...HEREEE!" All Might pokes his head in, followed shortly by the rest of him. He dangles from the doorway, his cape flowing around him. "Coming through the door like a hero!"

I quickly cover my mouth in order to hide my smile that almost turned into a laugh. For a hero, this guy is pretty silly.

Everyone in class basically loses their shit, especially Denki who looks besides himself with joy. I can see Jirou side eye him then redirect her focus back to the hero.

He begins to walk in very dramatically and I couldn't help but let a little puff of air out before covering my mouth again to stifle my laughter. The blonde in front of me stiffens a bit and suddenly my laughter is gone. He slightly turns his head and I can tell he wants to turn around to look at me and more than likely question my audacity.

Before he gets the chance, All Might pipes up, "Welcome to the most important class at UA high! Think of it as 'Hero-ing 101'. You will learn the basics of being a pro and what it means to fight in the name of good."

All Might starts to flex and pose like a Greek god and by that point I'm losing it inside. I have to look away and put my head down before I laugh out loud. "Let's get started!" As amazing as he is, I cannot take this hero seriously for the life of me.

"Today's lesson will pull no punches!" He flashes a large card at us with the word 'battle' on it.

"Hell yeah! Fight Training!" The blonde in front of me yells and I sigh. I thought we'd have a little more time before it came to this but I guess not.

All Might then reveals that our hero costumes are ready and it's time to go get changed. Grabbing the case with my designated number, I head out and to the girls locker room. Placing the case onto the small bench in my stall, I open it warily. 

First, I take out a pair of black cargo pants and put them on. They have black patchwork stars sewn onto them. On the sides of my thighs, they have custom pockets for my throwing knives.

Next, I put on a black form fitting long sleeve shirt and tuck it into my pants. I then grab the black belt that's resting in the case and slide it through the loops of my pants. I reach for the pouches that go with it and clip them on. The pouches are embellished with silver constellations and swirls going down the fronts and sides.

I then reach for the black braces and slide them up over my hands and onto my forearms. They are tied closed with silver laces. Next are my shoes-- black combat boots with silver laces to match my braces.

Lastly, my favorite part of my entire costume-- my cloak. It's a black hooded cloak, the outside adorned from head to toe in silver moons and stars. The inside is a beautiful, deep purple. I throw it over my shoulders and tie it closed. I reach back for the hood and slide it up and over my head.

I nervously reach for the curtain and pull it to the side. Hesitantly, I slowly step out and am met by wide eyes from all the girls. So I don't immediately run back in, I push their looks from my head and turn to head towards the full body mirror in the bathroom. I look at myself and take in a sharp breath. It's everything I could have ever imagined and more. Looking back at me is the younger version of me with a little black cloak with stars super glued on my hand thanks to my mother.

Tipping my head to the side, I open the cloak a bit more to take in the rest of my hero suit. This is real. It's all real. I really did it.

I'm yanked back from my thoughts by a screaming Mina as her arms wrap around me from behind.

"OH MY GOD!!!"

I'm still speechless so all I can do is blush and give her a small smile.

"Girl, you look gorgeous! I am actually blown away right now. THAT is your hero suit?"

"Uh...yeah..." I chuckle softly. "I know it doesn't look very practical, but my quirk is actually better suited for recon missions, so it shouldn't get in the way."

"Oh yeah, you never got to tell me about it yesterday."

"Yeah, I'm uh.. actually really good at close combat so if needed, I can take off the cloak and fight."

"That's so cool! Also, quit beating around the bush and spill girl! What's your quirk?"

"Oh right...sorry...uh" I go to hide my face in my hands and she reaches for them instead.

"Hey, I'm sure whatever it is, it's amazing. Does this have to do with Bakugo?" My face must have spoken for me because she immediately says, "Hey, don't let him get in your head. He's a piece of shit."

"Yeah, I know." She gives my hands one last big squeeze and I take a deep breath to steady myself.

"Okay so, like I said yesterday, my quirk is called Dreamwalker. When I'm sleeping, I can access the dreams of whoever I choose. I can bend them to my will good or bad. I've actually done it a lot for Izuku in the past. Some nights, I peek around looking for him in the dream world and if he's having a nightmare, I usually alter it for him so it's more peaceful. I can choose to join his dream or simply alter it from afar."

"Woah, that's sick," Jirou adds as she walks up. "Sorry for eavesdropping... I was curious." She chuckles softly.

I just nod with a smile and continue. "If they aren't sleeping, I can still enter their mind and make them see what I want to see. I'm still working on this part, but sometimes I can even see bits and pieces of what they are thinking about in the form of visons which can be helpful if we need information."

Mina covers her mouth with her hands in excitement then squeals, "Omg that's amazing!"

"Yeah, the only downside is if I'm in the dream world or someone's headspace for too long, I can get migraines. Once I start feeling it, I immediately pull out or else I can get really bad nosebleeds."

"Well, I can see why you'd be the best at recon missions. You have like the most ideal quirk. We'd definitely work together in the future seeing as I have super hearing." She chuckles.

"Yeah totally. But since I have to be unconscious, my quirk isn't always so helpful, hence me taking up classes to get really good at fighting. I needed to be able to make up for it in one way or another." I shrug.

Mina grabs us by the wrists and starts to pull us towards the exit. "Come on, as much as I'd love to sit and chat all day, we have to get to class."

We follow her out and head to the training grounds.

As we walk through the building and across the school grounds to reach Ground Beta, all I can think about is Bakugo. Is he going to start another fight? Will he make fun of my hero suit? The questions and possibilities are endless and my anxiety is through the roof.

Right as we are about to head into the tunnel that leads into the training grounds, I look up and Bakugo's eyes are already boring into mine. He looked shocked but that look was gone as fast as it came and was replaced with his signature scowl.

I speed up in order to stay with the girls and try to keep any thoughts of him out of my head. I can't allow myself to think about that look or what it could have meant or I would be screwed.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

(Below is Runa's hero suit inspo!"

Think this but cargo pants instead ;P Also for her cloak, think less astrology and more of just stars moons and constellations!

Chapter Text

Bakugo POV:

I'm sitting in my desk working on homework when I hear the sounds of my classmates channeling in from lunch. I try to ignore their annoying chatter amongst each other so I can continue working, but a familiar giggle reaches my ears making my body freeze up.

Sure enough, Runa walks in with three of our other classmates. The audacity of her...I can't believe she's here.

I watch her carefully as she makes her way to the other side of the classroom and plops down onto one of the desks. She begins to swing her legs back and forth and tilts her head slightly when she talks. Her long black hair flows down her slender back and I find myself wondering if it was as soft as it was when we were kids. Another chuckle slips from her mouth and I catch myself leaning towards it in order to hear it a little better. Hearing it after all this time is enough to make me feel jealous that I'm not the one causing it, yet feeling guilty for even thinking that way. Enough idiot! You can't go down this road again!

The sound of the school chime fills my ears and she jumps off the desk and makes her way back towards me. She passes me on her way to sit down and I can smell her vanilla perfume, the kind she always wears. I am so aware of her it drives me insane. The way her perfume subtly fills my nose, the way she tilts her head when she talks, how she listens intently to what you have to say whether it's interesting or not, the way she picks at the skin of her nails when she's nervous.

I don't miss a thing when it comes to her, but I wish I did. Why did she have to come here? Why did she have to ruin my plans?

I'm violently yanked from my thoughts when our new teacher walks in. All Might is loud and surprisingly awkward. It's not my first encounter with him but having him here is definitely something to get used to.

As if being this close to her isn't bad enough, I'm caught off guard by a snicker coming from directly behind me. From her. My body tenses and I go to look at her but quickly stop myself, because if I look at her right now, I don't know what will happen. I just know it won't be good.

What could she possibly be laughing about? I look up and see All Might walking in, his walk definitely seeming off. It's not enough to actually laugh about though. I guess she hasn't really changed. She was never able to take anything seriously when we were kids.

I hear a small sound come from her once more, then the sound of something small hitting the desk. Against my better judgement, I turn around and find her head tucked under her arms, shoulders rising and falling quickly. She's...laughing. I look up again and All Might is flexing while monologuing. This girl is going to be the death of me...

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

I walk out of the locker room feeling pumped. I have a sick new hero suit and nothing it going to stop me from kicking ass in training today. I don't allow myself to think about the spunky brunette who haunts my past because I won't let anything come between me and being the number one hero.

I make my way through the school grounds and follow my classmates to Ground Beta. As if this day couldn't get any worse, I see a flash of black and silver appear in the dimmed tunnel hallway.

I look up and see Runa. The air from my lungs gets knocked loose and my entire body comes to a halt. I slowly drag my eyes up her body, taking in her new suit. My eyes finally meet hers and my face betrays me for a split second and I can tell she noticed, because she too, comes to a stop. I quickly recover and replace my shocked look with a more familiar one. A nasty feeling claws it's way into my gut and before I can say or do anything, she quickly takes off, leaving me behind.

Bakugo 9 y/o:

My friends and I stumble into the neighborhood park and start to play kickball. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Izuku and Runa sitting at one of the benches under the pavilion. Izuku is wearing normal clothes but Runa is swamped by a large black cloak with silver designs on it. I'm too far away to make out what's on it or what they are doing.

I try to focus on the game with my friends but can't because I keep glancing over at Runa. I see her swing her short legs over the edge of the bench and stand up. She leans down to say something to Izuku then walks away. Against my better judgement, I get up and walk over to her, intercepting her before she can reach the bathrooms.

"Kats? Uh...what are you doing here?" She asks nervously, slightly tilting her head to the side.

"What do you think? We're at the park. I'm playing. What are YOU doing?"

"Oh um... I'm doing some crafts with Izuku."

She glances over at Izuku then looks back over at me. Her pretty green eyes meet mine and it makes me nervous.

"Crafts?"

"Uh...yeah. I'm making something for my hero suit. Do you want to join? I know we aren't-"

I quickly cut her off, not wanting to hear what she has to say. Cutting off Izuku was easy, but I can't say the same about her. It was a million times harder. I can't let her back in. Before I can stop my big mouth, I blurt out, "Hero suit? How could you be a hero? All you do is dream stuff."

"I- " My body acts before I can even think. I grab the cloak she's wearing and rip it off of her body. "Kats no! Please-"

Ignoring her protests, I set off my quirk, searing holes throughout her cloak. Her big green eyes, brighter now because of the redness in them, meet mine begging for answers.

"Kats...how could you...I worked so hard on it..."

Tears begin to well in her eyes and a sharp feeling hits my gut. I want to apologize but stop myself because I already know I went too far. I slip back into the part and lay on the hurt a little thicker.

"Just give up Runa. You'll never be a hero like me. Neither will Izuku. He's more useless than you are."

Runa yanks the seared fabric from my hands and runs into the bathroom crying. I tell myself that I did what I had to do to keep her away. If I'm going to be number one. I can't let anything or anyone hold me back.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Bakugo Present Time:

The memory leaves a sour feeling in my gut and for once, I let myself take it in because in all honesty, I deserve it. I let myself feel the guilt creep in and worm its way inside, slithering across all my organs one by one. I let it circle my heart tight enough to squeeze, tight enough for it to hurt. I let the feeling take over little by little. After a bit, it starts becoming too heavy and I can barely handle it. I clutch the fabric of my suit in my fist, desperate for release as I walk through the tunnel.

But as I expected, I don't find it. I see Runa walking in front of me, head hanging low, hood covering her face. Each step we take feels heavier and I can feel the darkness starting to take me. Before I can let it, a strong hand with an even stronger grip greets my shoulder with a squeeze.

"Bakugo! My man! Lookin suuuper manly with your new hero suit." Kirishima continues to walk alongside me, despite me glaring at him and hoping he'll take the hint. He doesn't.

"Fuck off shitty hair. Don't you have anyone else to bother?" He clutches his stomach and laughs, patting my back while doing so. 

"You're funny Bakugo. Always so feisty!" I grunt and give him another look but as always, he just laughs it off.

We continue to make our way through the dark tunnel and eventually reach the inside, greeting an excited looking All Might.

"It is time for combat training!"

Some guy with glasses speaks up, "Sir, this is the fake city from the entrance exam right? Will we be doing the same thing as before?"

"Not quite!" He throws up an unexpected peace sign. "Most people expect to encounter villains outside, but in reality, you actually encounter them more indoors, so I want you guys to work on that. Truly intelligent criminals stay hidden in the shadows, not out in broad daylight! Because of this, you will be fighting two on two battles."

"Isn't this a little advanced?" A froglike girl pipes in and I roll my eyes. Idiots.

"Not at all! The best training you can get is while on the battlefield! But remember, you can't just go around punching robots this time. You will be dealing with real people, your classmates."

Already annoyed by all the droning on and on, I ask, "How much can we hurt the other team?" My question gets drowned out by the many more that come after mine, leaving me annoyed.

All Might then goes on to explain that if we are the heroes, we are to find a missile and capture it or the villains, but if we are the villains, we are to keep the heroes from reaching it. He explains that everything will be completely random. As long as I don't get Runa, everything should be fine. I hear her get paired with that pink-cheeked girl and sigh in relief. All the pairs are announced and now we wait to see who will be the heroes and villains.

My relief is unfortunately, short lived. As if the world has it out for me, I find out that my team is going against hers. Honestly, I don't know which is worse. Me being forced to work with her, or having to be in close enough proximity to fight her. Either option is a loss.

Iida and I head to the missiles location where he wants to "strategize". As if I would work with him. The damn four-eyes keeps babbling about embodying the spirit of villainy or whatever the fuck when all I want is for him to shut up so we can get this over with.

"Whatever four-eyes. You can do what you want. Guard the missile, fight, I don't care. I'm going out there to stop pink cheeks and Hanamura before they can even make it up here."

"But Bakugo, we need a plan!"

"That was my plan. Now shut up and let me get down there."

I make my way down the stairs and through the hallways in hopes of finding the girls. Before I now it, I can hear the familiar clack of high heels echoing through the hallway. I follow the sound and pop out from my hiding spot just in time to intercept them and fire a blast. Unfortunately, Runa knocks them out of the way, so I miss. The smoke clears and I am met with Runa standing with our classmate tucked behind her arm.

"Don't make me fight you, Katsuki."

"What? Scared you'll lose...Witch?"

I can see her lip twitch at the name and briefly I feel guilty for using it, but quickly shove those kinds of thoughts away. I'm not here to be nice. I'm here to win.

"I guess we'll find out."

She goes to untie the strings holding together her cloak, determined green eyes not wavering from mine. She pulls it off and throws it into the hallway to her side. With a hint of a smirk, she rolls her shoulders and goes to a fighting stance. Her quirk has nothing to do with this kind of fighting. I've never seen her fight a day in her life, so I'm a little confused as to why she thinks she can stand a chance.

"It's okay, sweetheart." I take off in a run towards her and she doesn't move a muscle. "I'll go easy on you, so I don't hurt you too badly."

I send a right hook right towards her face and to my surprise, she not only stops it, but grabs my arm. Because of my shock, I don't register what she does before it's too late. Using more strength than I know she possessed, she pulls on my arm and throws me over her shoulder, slamming my back onto the ground. The air from my lungs gets shoved out of my chest from the impact.

As I start to stand, I hear her speak behind me, "You always start a fight with a right hook, Kats." There's a brief silence. "What? Didn't think I'd pick up on it after all these years of watching you pick fights?"

I turn my body to face her and I see a smirk plastered on her face. "Come on, show me what you got, asshole. I see you'll pick fights with girls now too."

My blood starts to boil. My breathing picks up and I can see an unfamiliar, feral look in her eyes. "Despite what you think, I'm not useless. My quirk might not help me in this situation, but it doesn't mean I'm not a good fighter. How do you think I made it into this place?"

Absolute rage seethes through me and I let off a couple explosions in my palms. I see her flinch, then take half a step back but she quickly resumes her position.

As I'm about to launch another attack, Iida's voice fills my ears, courtesy of the ear piece we were given.

"Bakugo, come in. What's going on? Where are you?"

"Shut up and defend the weapon. I've got more important things to worry about."

Shifting my focus back to the angry brunette in front of me, "Let's get this over with Witch."

"Uraraka! Run! Get to Iida!"

Pink cheeks takes off running. I sprint over to Runa and send my left leg into her side, but again, she blocks it. I look down and see her start to wrap the capture tape around my ankle. Over my dead body. Frustrated, I send another explosion her way, trying not to hit her anywhere fatal, but she quickly dodges, falling into a somersault before standing back up.

As if her being able to fight didn't already shock me, seeing her take off in a sprint away from me had me absolutely floored. Do I chase her? Do I let her get away and just go after pink cheeks? I grip my hair with both hands and groan before taking off after her. I check hallway after hallway and she's nowhere to be found. After a while, I finally find her crouched against the wall.

Taking advantage of the fact that she hasn't noticed me yet, I quietly take her in. She's panting quickly and holding her face in her hands. Her long black hair is pulled into a high ponytail, the ends flowing over her left shoulder. I know she's flustered and panicking by the way she starts to mess with her fingers. Before I can let myself feel bad, I shout at her, getting her attention. She quickly stands up and starts to back away slowly.

As expected, she turns around and darts off again. I know she's only stalling me so her teammate can have some time to get to the missile, but I let her have her fun for a bit and immediately take off after her again. Not long after, I catch up to her, finding her in an open room. I quickly slide my arm around her waist and pull her to me.

"Let me go Katsuki!" She screams and elbows me in the stomach.

I let her go and she turns around to face me. She almost looks as angry as the day I told Izuku to jump off the roof. Knowing it'll rile her up, I smirk and she charges at me, playing right into my hand. She wraps her arms around my torso and tackles me to the ground. I fail to push her off fast enough, so she straddles me and my breath catches. Taking advantage of the momentary trance I was in, she throws a punch at my face and it's harder than I expected.

Thankfully, I get over myself and grab her fist with my hand before she can get another in. She tries again with her other fist but again, I catch that one too. With both of her fists in mine, I use my body weight to knock her off so I'm on top of her instead. I bring both of her hands above her head and pin them there with one of my own. My other arm is pressed to her chest just below her neck. Her eyes go wide beneath me and she starts to squirm. I won't lie and say this position isn't affecting me. I know I'm a sick bastard for it but in this moment I don't care. I need to win.

"What happened to all the sass you had for me back there Runa? Hmm?" She squirms some more under my hold.

"Fuck you, asshole," she sneers.

Seeing her like this does something to me that I can't name. She was always so quiet and civil but seeing her like this gets me fired up.

I see her look down and it clicks in my head what she's about to do. "Oh no you don't!" I quickly move my body to be positioned between her legs instead of on the outside.

"A hit to the nuts is a low blow!" I almost smirk at her. I'm weirdly...proud?

"Anything to win...right Katsuki?" She smirks at me and I start to sweat, not from the fighting, but from the fact that I have this gorgeous girl under me giving me a look that could bring me to my knees.

"Get off-"

All Might's voice appears, "The first round is over. The hero team wins!"

I quickly scurry off the girl below me and the look on her face rivals my own. I fucking lost. That four-eyed bastard is so useless! We just stare at one another, seething green eyes meet my red ones. We are told to leave so we start to head outside. Right as we are about to leave the building she stops and grabs my wrist.

"Don't you DARE do that to me again! Don't touch me and don't speak to me." Her eyes are locked on mine for a few seconds before she throws my wrist down and storms off leaving me behind.