Dorm life was almost physically painful.

Mirio and Nejire, along with Amajiki, stuck close by me, which had never been a problem in the past. Nowadays, however, I wished that they would just leave me alone. The only thing that even remotely lifted my spirits was mention of Eri. She lived on campus, according to Mirio, who often looked after her, and I hoped to muster the courage to visit her before I had to leave again.

The days were long, and what made matters worse was my return to Yuuei had been staggered, meaning I barely had a class a day. It took almost a week for Hawks to call on me, and it had been almost unbearable. When he finally made contact, he suggested we go out for lunch, and I humoured him. I had to make him think I was oblivious.

"So, you like Kentucky Fried? Pizza, perhaps? Or are you one of those fancy teacake kinda girls?" We strolled along the sidewalk, and I had already become rather uncomfortable with all the fangirls stopping to snap pics of him.
"I'm easy. I'll eat pretty much anything bad for me." I replied, rolling the lint in my pockets around between my fingers.

"Oh, before I forget! Your lover boy wanted me to tell you that he misses your beautiful face, and that he can't wait to smother you with hugs and kisses when you get home!" The number two beamed down at me, and I scrunched my nose, creating a slightly larger distance between us.
"No he didn't." Having been caught out, he deflated a little, wings drooping along with his shoulders.

"Ya got me. He actually just told me to go do unspeakably lewd things to myself when I asked if he wanted me to relay anything to you. You really picked a mean one, kiddo." He blew a raspberry and sighed, but quickly recovered, grabbing my arm and yanking me into a small takeaway store.

The scent of old grease and batter made me kind of nauseous, but I didn't complain, following Hawks' direction and sitting at a booth in the far corner. In no time, he had returned with a paper bag, filled with enough fried chicken to recreate an entire, well, him.
"So, about my wings..." I started, accepting the large soda and drumstick he handed to me.

"Yeah, actually, I made some arrangements with my buddy! His agency has this huge training area not too far from here, and he said that you and my other little underling can come do some training with his throuple!" How Hawks became a hero with such a strange mind, I'd never know, but that wasn't the problem.
"Wait, I thought it'd be one on one training."

Waving me off like it was no big deal, Hawks thankfully waited until he was finished chewing and swallowing before giving me a response.
"Look, I know it's supposed to be all hush hush puppy, but I need to keep my rep up too. You need to get close to heroes, and Endeavor is the number one! I'm doing you a favour."

Endeavor...I have a feeling you're setting me up for failure...

After our first meeting, Hawks left me hanging for a further three days, and it was only when Tokoyami came searching for me that I knew the game was on. He seemed like a decent guy, once you got past the edgy, tortured poet vibes, and I couldn't deny that his quirk was both incredible and adorable.

Endeavor's training facility, however, was just straight up incredible. The ceilings were so tall, Twice could have cloned Gigantomachia five times and he wouldn't have managed to reach the glass.
"Endeavor! How's it going?!" Hawks lit up when the flaming pro approached us, and I felt myself shrink down. I had only ever really encountered him once, after Dabi had destroyed the park, and he made me beyond nervous.
"Hawks. Students." He nodded to each of us in turn, and when his azure eyes met mine, my skin prickled.

The colour blue just reminds me of Dabi...

"I need to talk to you about something, regarding a missing persons report. Your interns can use the space as they please until we're ready." As the hulking man spoke, he glanced to me again, and I quickly threw my (E/C) eyes to the ground. Was it guilt, or just plain fear?
"(L/N), after you. My fellow classmates are just over there." Tokoyami motioned to the far side of the arena, where three boys were stretching and talking amongst themselves.

When we got close enough, I recognised Bakugou, my stomach churning when he lifted his head.
"Oh, it's you, furball. Shittyhair wouldn't shut up about you." He muttered, and I tried to keep my composure.
"Nice to see you, too, Bakugou." I smiled, turning to give the other two a wave. "I'm (L/N) (F/N). We never really had a chance to introduce ourselves when you lot saved me from the League in Kamino."

How did I manage to be so chipper all the time? It's exhausting!

The fluffy green-haired boy smiled back, offering me his hand to shake.
"I'm Midoriya Izuku! It's a relief to see you're back to normal, (L/N)!" Oh, he reminded me of myself, back before I jumped paths. A real pure kid.
"Todoroki Shoto." Another face I recognised, and by name, too. Yet another flash of blue, and this time my chest began to ache.
"Thank you for letting us train with you guys!" I chuckled, my happiness completely fabricated. "I'll do my best to not get in your way, boys!"

Midoriya flailed his arms around, shaking his head so fast I thought it was going to turn a complete three sixty.
"No, no! You're our upperclassman! Well, upperclasswoman! It's us who should be saying that to you!" Bakugou clicked his tongue at the comment, but I ignored it, guilt again weighing down on me like a cartoon anvil.

"Well, shucks...Seriously, though. I'm just here to do a little training with Hawks, and then I'll be out of your hair. We just needed a controlled environment with a high ceiling." I explained, taking my jacket off to fold up.
"Why a high ceiling?" Todoroki queried, and I turned to him, though I tried not to look at his left eye. It really made me miss Dabi.
"When I was...absent...I discovered a new element to my quirk. I can kinda use Hawks' wings now."

The freckled first year whipped a notebook and pen out of nowhere, and the speed of which he had done so left me startled.
"You can use his wings?! Does that include each individual feather?! Are they the same colour?! Does your quirk involve duplication, or-"

"Midoriya, cease your bombardment. Your curiosity is excessively enthusiastic..." Tokoyami sighed, shaking his head at his classmate.
"Whatever the raven quothed. Shut the fuck up." Bakugou added with a snarl, grabbing the greenet's arm and dragging him off towards the center of the arena. "Fight me, you dumb nerd."

Delightful attitude...

"Would you care to spar, (L/N)?" I glanced over to Todoroki, disliking the idea, but at the same time not wanting to be rude.
"Oh, sure, if you want. Do you mind, Tsukuyomi?" The avian shook his head, and I followed the son of Endeavor to the opposite side of the arena, stretching my arms behind my head. "With or without quirks? If I remember right, you're fire and ice, so I don't think I'd be much of a match-up..."

Flexing his fingers, Todoroki stopped about ten paces away, turning to face me.
"Without, then. Just a warm up." His voice was so listless, as was his face. The more I interacted with him, the more I missed my boyfriend, which didn't exactly make sense to me. Either way, the boy was a start. To get to Endeavor, I had to go through lower levels. His son could make my job easier.

"Sounds good to me. Just, uh, could you maybe not be too rough with me..? I'm recovering from some injuries and not in top shape..." I was telling the truth. My ribs, although healed, were still aching every now and then. One of the downsides of being a villain was no access to Recovery Girl and her magic smooches.

We started to spar, and it seemed like he took my meek request much too seriously. Light jabs and kicks here and there. It was honestly just like how Mustard and I used to play-fight and fool around. Why was everything making me miss them?
"So, you were kidnapped by the villains again?" The boy's question took me by surprise, and I paused, allowing him to lightly knock me in the arm.

"Well, kind of..? I'm...not really sure what happened...I'm fuzzy..." I replied, building my guard up in case of more questions. Humming, Todoroki jabbed at me again, but stopped before making contact, straightening up out of his defensive pose.
"What do you remember? I'm curious."

Boy, you take that eerily familiar eyeball and quit with your questions!

Chewing on my bottom lip, which had become a nasty new habit of mine, I shrugged, rolling my shoulders to limber up.
"Not all that much, if I'm honest...I don't think I was treated badly..." I replied softly, looking off to the side. "Like a pet, I suppose? It's all jumbled, sorry..."

Cocking his head a little, he studied me for the longest time, his mismatched eyes making me feel beyond uncomfortable.
"Kirishima mentioned that you were kissed by one of them, before disappearing. In your house." I did my best to not inhale too sharply, almost flinching due to how blunt he was being.
"That...isn't something I'd like to think about, Todoroki..." I answered slowly, regretting my decision to tag along.

"I just have one question about that guy. Would you hear me out? I understand if you don't want to." Todoroki softened a little, hopefully realising that he was making me upset.
"I...guess...I can try..." I sighed, unsure of what to do with my hands. I'd always been a horrible liar, and I silently cursed Shigaraki for sending me back here.
"Do you know anything about him? He specifically called me out at the summer camp, before the incident at Kamino. I want to know why, and I thought that maybe you'd know something, having been around him."

I wish I did...I never asked why...but now I wish I had...

"He...didn't really talk that much. Quiet, moody...dangerous...From what I can remember, he was nice to me, for the most part...but other than that...I don't know anything about him. Maybe he, uh, saw you at the sports festival? Could have considered you a...what's the word..? Adversary..? Because of your fire..? Maybe..?" I was barely keeping myself afloat, but he seemed to accept my response, nodding along to my babbling.

"Perhaps. I'm sorry for making you upset." His apology, although monotone, was completely sincere, and I pushed that damn smile back onto my face.
"N..no, it's okay, really. I get it. From what Kirishima and Amajiki saw, he and I were close. I'm not even sure how that even happened..." Fibbing made me queasy, but a question popped into my head that I just couldn't ignore. It could easily come across as sketchy, but I was willing to risk it. "Hey, you don't happen to have any...brothers..? Cousins, maybe? With the same blue eyes?"

The tables had turned. This time, Todoroki looked taken aback, having to clear his throat and wrangle his composure.
"Two brothers. One isn't around anymore. Why..?" Waving his reply off and flustering, I wanted to use my quirk to turn into a mouse and scurry down the nearest storm drain.
"Just wondering! Your left eye just seems super familiar, is all! I'm so sorry for bringing that up!"

It's just...way too similar...

"It's fine. We're even now, I guess." Todoroki didn't smile, but it was close to it. A slight twitch of his lips, but that was as good as I was going to get.
"I guess so..." I chuckled nervously, tapping my fingers against the fronts of my thighs. "Hey...so, I was wondering...I know I said we were a bad match-up, but could maybe we do some quirk training together at some point? I'd like to see how heat resistant some of my transformations can be, and maybe develop a few combo moves that work well with fire...I mean, if I go pro working under Hawks, that would mean also working with Endeavor, and it would be really cool to test out..."

I was a complete idiot for asking, but I couldn't help it. Not only would it let me get closer to the first year, but it would also help me get access to his father, as well as possible attacks I could use with Dabi. It was a win win.
"I don't usually use my fire, but I'll consider it. I need to get better with it, so it could benefit the both of us..." This time, he seemed a little wary, but I chalked it down to his own personal reasons.

Okay...maybe I can get home sooner than I thought...

Before we could discuss anything further, Endeavor and Hawks returned, the latter with a jolly bounce in his step. He scanned the arena for a moment before we made eye contact, and he pointed a gloved finger in my direction.

"Alright, kiddo! Ready for a little two hundred and five foot drop?!"

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***This wasn't meant to be such a boring chapter, I'm sorry.

Thank you all for 600k on this, too! Made my day <3

Next Time: A Guilty Conscience***