damaged people are dangerous.
they know how to survive

THE BATTLE BETWEEN childhood friends went bad really quickly. But nobody was surprised. After all, Bakugo was out for revenge. And if there was something Serena remembered from their childhood, it was that Bakugo was one stubborn bastard.

When Midoriya and Bakugo were face to face, both of them ready to have the final move, Serena felt her whole body tense.

"They're going to kill each other! Sir!" Kirishima yelled, and Serena's eyes widened at the realisation. Her quirk acted on impulse when Bakugo's and Midoriya's fists were right at each other's faces. Time around her froze, and Serena ran over to the building. She carefully made her way upstairs, spotting the two quickly. She grabbed Bakugo's palm and pulled it an inch to the right while she moved Midoriyas full-powered arm to the ceiling.

She then went up to the top floor, pushing the brunette against the wall so she wouldn't get hit by the impact and also moving Iida so he wouldn't get injured either. If Uraraka acted smartly and quickly, she'd realise that she would be able to use her quirk to float over to the object and win the game.

Serena returned back to the monitor room and unfroze time, watching as Bakugo missed Midoriya's face while the latter's powerful punch managed to break the ceilings above him. Serena sighed in relief as Bakugo's explosion missed Midoriya by a hair, both of them shocked at the outcome as Midoriya looked above him and saw the hole he created unintentionally. Both were sure that they were going to punch either, but only one was grateful for the turn of events.

Midoriya was so fueled by rage that he forgot that Katsuki Bakugo was his best friend and he would always be his best friend, whether or not the blonde idiot accepted it. Bakugo was the one person that also fuelled his determination. Midoriya wanted to be just like Bakugo. Powerful.

The class of 1-A and All Might watched at the outcome of the battle. Like Serena predicted, Uraraka used her quirk to move over to the weapon, latching onto it and sealing Team A's win.

"Thank god," Serena said, placing a hand over her racing chest.

"W-what just happened?" growled Bakugo, glaring down at the boy that collapsed onto the floor. He stared at his own hands, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He missed his attack on Midoriya, even though he knew his arm was in the right direction.

All Might announced the Hero team won and then went to retrieve the passed out Midoriya and load him onto the boats they had that would take him to Recovery Girl's office.

As the class discussed the events of the battle, Serena felt somewhat at ease. She managed to stop them both from being fatally injured, but she knew that Bakugo would still be extremely pissed. The quirkless boy he had grown up with had a quirk. And he believed that Midoriya hid it from him.

When All Might graced Tenya Iida with the MVP of the battle, Yaoyorozu explained why and even All Might was surprised with the level of detailed her explanation went into. He then moved onto the next battle and Serena took this as an opportunity to talk to Bakugo, however, after hearing the name of the second pro heroes son, Serena couldn't help but feel intrigued. She decided she'd watch his battle before taking Bakugo and having a talk to cool him down.

Serena watched in amazement as Todoroki managed to freeze the whole building. His coolness ended up affecting the monitor room, and she herself started shivering. Even though she had an ice quirk, she was still affected by the different temperatures. It was only when she used her own ice that she was fine with the cold temperatures.

When he placed his hand on the weapon, heat began to emit off of him, and that's when she realised why his hair was half white half red. His quirk was fire and ice. She figured that the fire side came from his dad while the ice part came from his mum.

When their battle was over, Serena walked up to Bakugo, who was staring at the screen with wide eyes. She knew exactly what he was thinking. The blue-haired beauty latched onto his wrist and dragged him out and to her surprise, she didn't hear any complaints from the blonde behind her. She took them outside the building, going behind it where they were covered by some trees that were there.

Serena knew that staying inside would cause him to get angrier and angrier, so she knew some fresh air would do him some good. She leant against the wall of the building, her knee propped up, and her arms folded across her chest. She watched as Bakugo stood next to her, his back leaning against the wall. He looked up into the sky, inhaling deeply so he could calm down a bit. The blonde knew what she was trying to do. Every time he would get angry when they were kids, she'd drag him outside and wait for him to cool down.

"Feeling better?" she asked once he stopped breathing deeply. Bakugo tsked, his fists clenching again. Every time he felt calm, his thoughts couldn't help but go back to Midoriya. And no, it wasn't because he was into him. No. He was so fucking angry at the kid. He was a bug that would follow him around; the only reason he was alive was because Bakugo let him. Now? Now he was walking around as if he wasn't one. And that pissed him off.

Serena sighed. She could see him tense up. She pushed herself off the wall and walked around him, stopping when she was directly in front of him. Then she opened her arms and Bakugo couldn't help the way his eyes watered. He stepped into her hold, feeling the familiar comfort of being in her arms. It was just like they were little. She would always hug whenever he was feeling down, mad, annoyed or any other negative emotions. She would always open her arms, and he would always crash into them.

He slowly slid onto the ground, and Serena followed. She straddled him and slowly began to remove the gauntlets around his arms as well as the mask on his face. She placed them on the ground and proceeded to snake her arms around his head, keeping him close to her while Bakugo wrapped his own arms around her, his fingers gripping the back of her shirt as he held on to her as tight as he could. Serena could feel his hands shake, and she knew she had to distract him. She also knew that there would only be one thing that would make him forget all of his thoughts for Midoriya temporarily. And no. It wasn't anything sexual.

"Do you remember the day my mother died?" she spoke, startling Bakugo, who believed that she would stay silent until he got over his anger like she always did. Bakugo nodded slowly.

"Yeah. You were over at my house." Serena hummed, moving to play with the ends of his hair. "The old hag got a call and took you away. I remember you were crying when you left, wailing while she tried to calm you down."

"Your mum took me to the scene per my dad's request. He wanted us to be with her when she passed. Unfortunately, we didn't make it on time." Saying the story of her past made her tense, her own chest becoming heavy as her brain processed the words that were leaving her mouth. "It was so hectic that day. I remember seeing my dad talking to one of the policemen, his eyes red because he had been crying. When he locked eyes with me, I knew she was gone. The expression on his face told me everything."

Her grip on the boy's hair tightened, and when she felt him flinch slightly, she removed them, instead choosing to place her arms around his neck, her hands clasped together. "I collapsed onto the ground, screaming." she continued, and Bakugo felt his heart ache for Serena. "I don't even know how long I went on for. My whole body was shaking, and my vision was blurred because of my tears. But when I finally calmed down, I realised that everything around me was silent. And when I looked up, everything around me was frozen."

"That's when you realised you had a second quirk. Your mum's," Bakugo mumbled. Serena nodded, resting against him.

"I didn't know what to do. Nobody could hear me or see me. Everything was frozen, and I couldn't do anything. I cried for so long, screaming for somebody, anybody, but alas, nobody did because nobody could." She exhaled deeply, trying her best to keep in the tears.

It was a traumatic experience for her and repeating it to someone was difficult. Bakugo understood that so he waited patiently, rubbing small circles into her back with both his thumbs, knowing it used to calm her when they were younger, and it still did because Serena was able to collect herself quickly.

"It was then that I realised that in order for me to fix what happened, I'd have to do it myself. And thus began my journey around Japan. I'm pretty sure I read every single book about quirks in the whole country. I travelled everywhere, looking for anything that would give me some sort of intel on how to unfreeze time."

"How long were you stuck?" he whispered, afraid that if he rose his voice, she'd collapse into tears.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Days, months, years. I didn't bother keeping track. It's not like I could've anyway. Everything was frozen." Even though she was acting nonchalantly about it, both of them knew she was far from it. "It's why I'm good at basically everything. I've read everything. I've practised almost everything. I learnt new languages, new skills." Serena was trying to keep positive, to show Bakugo that it came with good things, but he knew that she would never wish anyone to be isolated like that. "It's also why I became a hero. So nobody has to go through what I went through," he called it. "While I was stuck, I came across a few villains. For some strange reason, I was able to predict what would happen when I unfroze time. I guess it's part of my quirk. Because of it, I managed to put away many corrupted people. Whether it be small-time thugs who were just stealing from a bank or thugs that were distributing major drugs."

Bakugo felt his lips twitch slightly. His chest swelled with pride at the information he was hearing. Only his Serena could capture villains while being stuck in a time-frozen world at such a young age.

"When I finally had enough information to unfreeze time, I went racing back to my dad and finally managed to do it. I remember crying so much, and he thought it was because of my mother, which it partially was. However, when I told him everything, I knew it hurt him even more. He was broken knowing his daughter suffered while he was frozen. I tried to explain to him that it wasn't his fault, but you know how parents are. They always want to protect you, and when they can't, it breaks them." At this point, both of them were relaxed against each other calm yet not entirely. Bakugo forgot all about Midoriya. The only important thing to him was the girl in his embrace.

"Yeah, I get you." he hummed, tightening his hold on her.

"After that, I decided to start my training. My dad, knowing how determined I was to achieve my dream, decided to home school me. It's why I never showed up after that day." Bakugo remembered his mum telling him what happened to Serena's mother. He wanted to go over to her house and hug her; he didn't want to ever let go of her but, of course, when he tried too, his mother whacked him on the head and scolded him. She then sat him down and explained to him how her family would be feeling and that going over there wouldn't help her. He was so upset but understood.

Even though he was young, Bakugo was mature for his age. So he decided to just wait for her, but Serena never showed up. It's one of the reasons why he became so angry all the time. He missed her. And without her to tame him, he was a wild beast with his cage unlocked. Ready to pounce on the next thing that pissed him off.

"I trained hard every day, focusing on activating my quirk at my own will. It took me a long time but eventually, I perfected it. After I perfected my time quirk, I focused on my ice quirk. It was easier to work on as I was familiar with it from a young age." she explained. "And now, here I am. Well, for the most part, at least. I know that I'm completely different from the girl you remember. I'm not as funny or happy or -"

Serena was interrupted by Bakugo. "Shut up."

The blue-haired beauty looked down at the male in shock. "W-what?"

"You heard me. Shut up." The two met eyes and Serena, for the first time, felt her heartbeat slowly spike as a warm feeling entered her system. "You're exactly the same as the girl I knew. The Serena I knew is the Serena in front of me. You haven't changed at all."

Serena scoffed. "Yes, I have. I can see it myself. My whole personality did a 180 because -"

"And that's normal." he cut her off again. "You suffered through something very traumatic. I would think you were crazy if you came back the same." Serena felt tears well up in her eyes as Bakugo continued on. "You suffered through isolation for years; you were forced to grow up quickly, not to have the carefree childhood most of us had. But even though you were broken and beat, you returned back stronger. You're a survivor, Serena" Bakugo rose his head, leaning his forehead against hers. "A warrior,"

Tears dropped from Serena's eyes, her lips quivering. She tightened her hold around Bakugo, and her body began to shake against his. "Let it all out, Serena. Let it all out," he mumbled, running a hand through her beautiful blue locks. Serena stuffed her face into his neck, sobbing softly as she finally let out all her pent up pain and negativity.

Nobody had ever said those words to her. Not even her father, who didn't speak about her past experience as he knew that she never liked too. So it wasn't his fault. But she knew that hearing it from him wouldn't have the same effect it had coming from Bakugo. The two sat there for a while, the battle of their classmates still going on.

When Serena was finished letting out all her emotions, she drew back from his neck, wiping away the tears on her face. "Thank you, Kat," she mumbled, calling him his childhood nickname.

"I still hate that name," Serena giggled, her eyes still stinging from her salty tears.

"I know," she whispered, resting her forehead against his. The two sat there in silence, relaxing their bodies until the last battle before Serena's was called. "It's my turn now," she mumbled, not wanting to get up, but she knew she'd have too. Bakugo huffed, thinking the same exact thoughts. Serena got up, helping Bakugo as well before they both walked to the bathroom. While Serena entered the female one, Bakugo entered the male one. The former was washing her face, getting rid of all evidence of her tears while the latter went to fix his outfit, reapplying his weapons and mask.

She froze time and grabbed Bakugo, who was standing outside the bathrooms, waiting for her. With great difficulty, she managed to get them both up the stairs and into the monitoring room.

When she unfroze time, she sighed in relief at All Might's words, "Now it is time for young Akari's challenge!" They were right on time. Bakugo looked around confused until he realised that Serena must have brought them here.

Serena stepped forward, her face void of emotions, as usual. However, those that liked to see the finer details in life saw that something about her changed. She was more relaxed, her eyes less tired than they previously were.

She walked over and slipped her hand into the box, grabbing a piece paper and handing it to All Might, who read the name written.

"Partnering up with Serena is Sero!" he boomed, dubbing them as Team A. The tape male grinned, walking over to the blue-haired beauty, who flashed him a small smile, taking him by surprise, as well as the rest of the class. Bakugo felt himself also smile. He knew what was happening. Now that she let everything out, she was slowly becoming relaxed, slowly realising that she was okay. That everything was going to be okay.

Serena then drew two pieces of paper that would be the team they would be opposing. "The second team will be Todoroki and Tokoyami!" Those that didn't know of Serena's quirk all began to mutter quietly. Sero and Serena were going up against two of the top students in the class. Even Sero was a bit frightened.

"Group A will be the hero team, and Group B will be the villain team." All Might announced and thus began their battle.

"Don't worry," she reassured the male. "We're going to win." And just like that, everything around her froze. She walked through the building, using her ice to freeze the floor. She listened carefully, waiting for the small difference in sound when the ice froze the ground with an object on it.

Upon finding it, Serena made her way to the fourth floor, where she saw Tokoyami calling for his quirk, Dark Shadow, and Todoroki in the process of freezing all the access into the room. However, because neither knew of Serena's quirk, neither knew that what they were doing was a waste of time. She walked over to the fake weapon, pressing her hand against it and unfreezing time.

"HERO TEAM WINS!" The two other students in the room turned around to see the blue-haired vision in shock.

"I control time," she informed them, a small smirk on her lips. "You were always going to lose."

──────✧❅✦❅✧──────

"THAT'S A WRAP!" yelled All Might after blowing his whistle. "Super work, you really stepped up to the plate, and we didn't have any major injuries except for Midoriya. You should be proud! Excellent first day of training all around."

"It's nice to hear some encouraging words after our homeroom class," Asui spoke. "Mr Aizawa was kind of a buzzkill." Most of the class nodded in agreement.

"I'm happy to bring such staggering positivity to all of you!" He grinned, raising his hands into the air. "That's all folks; I should go check up on young Midoriya. Now, watch how a pro-agent leaves when he has got somewhere to be," he said before rushing away at a speed

"Okay, you guys! That is a hero!" Kaminari gushed.

"Ohh, I'll never be able to run that fast." Oijiro sighed, feeling dejected.

As All Might ran, he couldn't help but look back at Bakugo. He was surprised to see that Bakugo wasn't upset because of losing to Midoriya. Instead, he was looking at Serena, who was standing in front of him. The two glanced at each, smiling softly when they locked eyes.

All Might felt a smile twitch at his lips. He knew of the relationship between Serena, Bakugo and Midoriya. The latter had told him everything. He knew that as long as Serena was there to tame him, Bakugo would be just fine in UA.

As for Serena, he knew that it was she who made the two miss their shots. He could see clearly that the two boys were aiming at each other's faces one second until the next Midoriya's arm shot into the air while Bakugo's missed Midoriya's face. He had heard her sigh of relief from his part of the room and immediately knew she meddled with the stance of the two of them.

──────✧❅✦❅✧──────

The day continued on as usual, the only thing different was the glances Bakugo and Serena would share. Although no one knew what happened, they did know that something did happen between the two, something that resulted in Serena feeling way better than this morning. She was more attentive in class, less stoic and cold. She actually listened to people when they asked her questions, instead of normally brushing them or giving them short one-word answers.

Serena even introduced herself to the class properly once the bell rang for the end of the day. She told the class of both her quirks, receiving lots of praises and questions, which she tried to answer as much as possible. It wasn't until Bakugo stood up that she finally did. The blonde told her that they were going to walk home together today.

"Hurry up," grumbled Bakugo as he stood by the door, waiting impatiently. Serena felt her eyes light up with amusement, her lips twitching into a smile.

"Are you going to come with, Kirishima?" The redhead shook his head.

"I'm going to wait for Midoriya," he answered, grinning broadly at the more talkative Serena. Something changed her today, and everyone was more than happy to welcome this slowly transforming Serena. "Why don't you two wait?"

"We can't," she spoke for both of them, knowing that Bakugo wouldn't be in the mood to see Midoriya. "Sorry," she apologised, smiling sheepishly. Kirishima shrugged his shoulders.

"It's alright," This was one of the reasons why Serena actually liked Kirishima. He didn't ask for explanations. He was content with whatever people gave him. It was none of his business, and he respected that.

"See you guys tomorrow," she waved goodbye to her class before walking out with Bakugo, who looked pissed from her being late but Serena knew that he wasn't.

"Is it just me, or does Serena seem different compared to the first day of school?" Kaminari spoke, holding a large pile of books in his hands. Mr Aizawa had asked him and Uraraka to collect them from the other teacher; the latter went back to collect the rest.

"No. I see it too," spoke Kirishima, still staring at the direction the beauty walked off in. "I walked home with her yesterday, and she was silent the whole time. Today, however, after the battles, something changed in her." He leant against the desk; his arms crossed over his chest. "I wonder what happened though."

As her classmates discussed her, Serena was walking by Bakugo's side in content. She missed his company, now realising it. All those years, she had been by herself. She relied solely on herself, refusing to open up even to her dad, so letting someone else know about her past relieved the weight on her shoulders. It was like Bakugo took all that tension and kicked it to the curb.

"KACCHAN!" Hearing the voice of Midoriya, the Serena turned around, watching as he ran up to them. "Wait up!" she paused in her steps, resulting in Bakugo having to do the same.

"What?" he asked, his voice low and threatening. He really wasn't in the mood Midoriya right now. Serena saw the way Midoriya trembled, becoming nervous now. His eyes kept darting between the two before landing on the floor. She realised that Midroiya probably wanted to talk to Bakugo by himself.

"I'll wait for you outside," Serena said, holding her bag and walking away from the two, catching the grateful look Midroiya sent her. She paused time, walking further away until they were out of her hearing distant. She propped herself against the gate, looking at the view before her, waiting patiently for the blonde to finish having a chat with Midoriya.

When she spotted the blonde, she pushed herself off the wall, walking over to him until she noticed the tears welling in his eyes. Serena didn't say anything, knowing it would only piss him off. Instead, she moved to walk by his side, reaching over and lacing their fingers together before squeezing his hand. It was something she did when they were little, something she did to remind him that she was here.

Bakugo squeezed back, using his other hand to wipe away the tears, he carefully tried to hide, but he knew it was no use. Serena always had an eye for the finer details in life. She always noticed everything.

From the window of the UA school, Ashido, Uraraka and Asui all watched the interaction between Bakugo and Midoriya, All Might and Bakugo and then managed to spot Serena and Bakugo.

"Did you guys see that?!" Ashido squealed, jumping up and down when she saw them hold hands. "I told you they're dating!"

"I still don't think so," Asui interjected, watching Bakugo and Serena until she couldn't see them anymore.

"What do you mean?! They're literally holding hands." As Asui and the pink-haired alien look-alike argued about the two being a couple, Uraraka couldn't help the green feeling that began to form inside of her. However, she ignored the unfamiliar feeling, brushing it off and rushing the girls to get their stuff so they could leave. All the while wondering if the girl she was currently crushing on was taken by Bakugo or not.