Cute artwork by @wattpearl and thejunestone on deviantART

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

You're going to be okay.

Warning: Panicked thoughts, disordered, kidnapping

Beta: emplatinum

◟(◕◡◕❀)

Off their heads went, rolling away from their bodies.

"Aw," we cooed, "you lost the game."

The last one who stood was trembling. He could barely hold the weapon in his hand, and tears streamed down his face.

We grinned at him. "Wanna p-l-a-y-?"

◟(◕◡◕❀)

D

A

N

G

E

R

We awoke before we were meant to. We were bound, bound, bound, bound, bound, bound—

They had bound our wrists together and tied our ankles to the legs of the chair.

Bad, bad, bad.

Awful knots.

Easy knots.

We—I—We—I—We—I popped my wrists out of place, loosening the bindings enough so I could slip out of them with ease. I pushed my wrists back into place, using the back of the chair to do so.

We popped our ankles out, wiggled enough, and then put them back into place.

We knew better than to let them know we were free too soon.

Time tO plAY?

The p-a-i-n of the burnburnburns was theeeerrre but o-o-oh we had worse.

Pain was our friend.

Pain was there every life.

So we could ignore it all

The door opened up to the room that was not important and we s-m-i-l-e-d.

He did not matter. He would be deaddeaddead soonsoonsoon.

He took us out to a bar. There were others.

The man who—yes, Dabi. Dabi was watching us with narrowed eyes and arms in slings.

Oopsie, I thought. I left a loose end.

We, I, We, I, We were placed beside Katsuki, and he looked us with genuine fear.

Yes, I suppose we must have looked bad with our blood-soaked bandages.

Drip-drop-drip-drop-drip-drop went our blood.

pLaY?

pLaYwItHuS?

Oh but where was the sound of the snip-snap-snip-snap-crick-crack-crick-crack of bones breaking?

We couldn't have the sound of blood not accompanied by bones breaking!

How boorish!

How uncivilized!

How BORING.

Through the corner of our—my—our—my eye I could see a fireplace.

One that ran on gas.

I lifted my gaze up towards the lost little boy that I could kill if I grew a bubble in his heart.

If I grew a bubble in any of his arteries.

It would be easy.

Too easy.

He should—

(KILL)

(NO)

(KILL HIM)

(NO)

(KILL)

(NO)

(YES)

(Nononono)

(YESsssss)

NOT THIS LIFE.

"Poor boy," we cooed. "So desperate for affection he would take it from anywhere. From anyone."

"Damsels should not talk back to the monsters that have them," Shigaraki said lowly, shifting his posture.

"Why was Midnight afraid of you?" the man of smoke and lies asked.

"Shall we play a game?" I asked, my bubble digging inside of the fireplace. It wrapped around the gas pipe and I s-l-o-w-l-y started to break it.

Not a sound must be made.

"Ho?"

"I am this level's boss," I said. "You must defeat me for your prize."

"You're already defeated," Dabi cut in, his face twisting in annoyance.

"Phase one is done," I agreed. "Phase two is not. How many lives do you need?"

"One," Shigaraki responded.

"Lucky," we said.

The pipe was free, the gas filled the room.

Dabi sniffed. "What's that smell?"

"This level is a lava zone," I said. "Don't die."

I ripped myself free from the bindings I had loosened, diving towards Katuski and wrapping a bubble around the two of us.

Then I flipped the switch for the fireplace with my bubble.

B

O

O

M

I—We—I—We—I poured every bit of my strength into the bubble wrapped tightly around Katsuki and myself. The explosion was immense—being in a bar did not help with that—and the force was powerful enough to send the two of us ripping through the air.

The bubble absorbed the worst of the fire, and the worst of the walls we went through but it was not perfect as shock absorption. I forced it to take us into the air, using the momentum gained from the explosion, to send us shooting into the sky.

The strength it took to do this was indescribable. It was like trying to desperately hold on to a piece of paper against the might of a tornado. My bubble wavered, cracked, and splintered, like glass, under the weight of explosion and the damage it sustained, but it held.

It took everything to keep it together in the air, and my heart hurt from the strain on my wand. It pounded harshly and loudly inside of my chest, and each breath pained me like using a broken arm.

Wheezing, I used the second bubble to cut Katsuki loose and he immediately dropped to his knees in front of me, his eyes wide. "Bubblegum, can you breathe?"

"Bar-ley," I whispered, "lo-sing."

Katsuki grabbed me, pulling me close just as my bubble shattered into millions of splinters. We free fell from the sky, plummeting to the ground before Katsuki threw out his arm and used his Quirk to slow our fall.

I could see the fire from the bar, and the pillar of smoke spiraling into the night sky.

'What a pretty fire,' we thought.

(It's time to rest, Blessed said. The danger is over.)

We kissed Kiyomi goodbye, and I thanked them for their help.

They slipped from my mind like a summer breeze.

Katsuki got us to the ground, but I was still struggling to breathe. He rolled me onto my back, placing an ear on my chest and listening to my heart. He counted to fifteen before letting out a soft, "Fuck."

I could feel my heart staggering, and I could barely whisper out, "Wand?"

Katsuki's eyes trailed down to my thighs, and he felt around for a brief moment before he found the pack I kept my wand safe in. He flipped it open, and my wand tumbled out.

There was a hairline fracture on it.

Katsuki looked at it in stunned silence before he looked over at me with wide eyes. "Bubblegum?"

"Re-urn—me," I wheezed, and Katsuki placed the wand over my heart. It returned to me, and relief came instantaneously. "Oh, thank God."

"We need to get you to a hospital," Katsuki said, looking over towards the fire. "Those assholes will be looking for us soon. Can you walk?"

I reluctantly shook my head. "I—I can't catch my breath."

Katsuki grimaced, but wordlessly stood up, turned around, and squatted down. Taking the hint, I weakly pushed myself up and climbed onto his back. He hooked his arms around the back, readjusting me, before he broke out into a steady jog, heading in the opposite direction of the fire.

I focused on trying to even my breathing, breathing through my belly. The pain had faded from my heart, but the strain on retaining such a powerful bubble had splintered my wand.

My wand was directly affected by my heart, and vice versa.

I knew that if anything should happen to my wand, it would directly correlate as damage to my heart.

It was in the brochure Baba and Papa had received from that old man so many years ago. The more valuable a part was attached to a wand, the stronger the wand.

A sort of... the greater the risk, the greater the reward scenario.

If my wand broke, that wouldn't simply be the end of my Quirk.

It would be the end of my life.

It was why Magi Quirks weren't ideal for being heroes. In order for the Quirk to be powerful enough to be useful as a hero, it'd have to come from a valuable part of the body, like the heart or brain. In such a violent world, though, damage was inevitable and having a blatant self-destruct button was dangerous.

It's why I kept my wand as well protected as I could.

I coughed, and Katsuki broke into a sprint.

The fracture would heal. It wasn't the first time I had overstrained my wand, and I doubted it would be the last. As long as my wand rested inside of my heart, it could recharge and heal.

I may still require surgery, but it should be okay.

I would be fine, this time.

From the blood loss, difficulty in catching my breath, pain, and exhaustion, it was inevitable I would pass out. One moment I was struggling to look ahead on Katsuki's back as he jogged as far from the fire as he could, and the next I was cocooned in darkness.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

Katsuki

Katsuki was dead tired, but adrenaline and genuine fear for his oldest friend kept him going.

His palms started to sweat profusely, and the bandages Kiyomi had on her were already soaked through with blood. It made it hard to keep his grip on her, but he held on with all the strength he had.

'Hospital. Hospital. No, phone? Would they be able to track it, though?' Katsuki's thoughts were rapid as he tried to think about how to get out of this unsavory situation.

Kiyomi got them out of that villain den, but he doubted she did much else than piss them off. The explosion wasn't even on par with some of the stuff Katsuki's thrown around, and probably the only reason Kiyomi's shield shattered prematurely was because of her pre existing injuries.

'She smells like charcoal,' Katsuki couldn't help but notice, gritting his teeth from the realization that her injuries were likely severe burns. 'Those can cause nerve damage.'

They were in some skeevy part of the city. The kind of place you don't go to unless you were looking for a fight, or something worse. The explosion had to have drawn a lot of attention—a quick glance behind Katsuki confirmed the smoke was billowing high into the sky—and help had to be on the way.

Whether it was the kind of help that would save them or get in the way was yet to be seen.

Katsuki tripped but caught himself, cursing his stupid tired legs, and swearing if his fingers went numb he'd bite them off.

He tried to stick to the shadows as much as he could. He didn't know how fast those villains would recover to chase after them—he had to assume the worst, which was that they were fast and they would pursue—and did his absolute best to lose them.

It didn't help that Kiyomi was occasionally dripping blood down onto the pavement leaving a nice trail.

When Katsuki noticed that tidbit he swore so vehemently even sailors would turn red.

He had to stop and set Kiyomi down a dark alley and rip apart his shirt into makeshift bandages. It was mostly her right shoulder and arm, and he wrapped as much as he could. He knew it wouldn't stop the bleeding indefinitely, but he had to do something.

While he was wrapping her he checked her breathing and pulse again.

The fear that shot through him when he realized it was slow again was indescribable.

Fear was not something he knew how to handle.

When he got scared, he lashed out. He could always fix his problems with a good pounding if it scared him.

But how did he fix a friend that was dying in front of him?

It made him snarl with frustration, and hot burning rage boiled inside of him. He couldn't carry Kiyomi piggyback anymore because stretching out her arm might reopen more wounds, so he picked her up bridal style.

He hated how she reeked of blood and burnt flesh.

He hated how she was so covered in blood it made it hard to keep a grip on her.

He hated how pale she was getting.

He hated how every time her breath hitched his heart stopped.

He hated everything right then.

Katsuki was supposed to be a hero, goddamnit. Heroes always won. Heroes always saved the day. They defeated everyone they came across. They always protected their friends—

They don't let their friend die.

Katsuki was going to be a hero so of course, he would find a way—

He was going to win.

He was going to be a hero.

He was going to save her, and then he was going to come back even stronger and beat the fucking shit out of those asswipes that had the brilliant fucking plan to kidnap him—

Katsuki was going to be a hero.

No matter what.

So even though he hated everything about this situation, he plowed through. He kept ducking around corners and sprinting when he thought it was safe enough to do so. He tried to keep Kiyomi as even as possible to not irritate her wounds further.

He did everything he could.

And for that night, it was enough.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

The villains did give chase when they regrouped.

But thanks to Katsuki's quick thinking and stubbornness they did not catch up until it was too late.

And by that, they did not catch up until the one and only All Might and numerous heroes arrived on the scene.

(unintentionally accompanied by a ragtag group of students who were determined to save their friends.)

◟(◕◡◕❀)

Several hours later, Kiyomi

I awoke in a hospital room, tired, and drugged. Upon waking a nurse came in to check on me. She looked me over with kind eyes, and a gentle touch, and afterward she left to inform the doctor of my awakening.

The doctor came in next, an older man with a charming smile. He went over my chart, told me that I was going to be okay. He said the only real issue was with the burns.

"Most of the burns could be treated, but," the doctor began, hesitating momentarily, "I'm afraid you'll have some scarring on your shoulder."

"Type of scarring that will inhibit movement, or cosmetic?" I immediately asked.

"Cosmetic," he reassured. "The skin grafts took, but, well, not everything can be put back as it was."

I nodded, knowing this. "How extensive?"

The doctor gestured towards the top of my shoulder. "From the top of your shoulder and down a quarter behind your arm."

That's easily covered by sleeves, I thought, content with that. It could have been a lot worse, after all. I also didn't mind scars in the slightest, especially not burns.

The doctor smiled with relief of my acceptance. "That's a good attitude. Ah, I'm sure you want to see your family, though, so I will let them in. Please do try to get some rest."

"Yes, thank you, doctor."

He left promptly, and the room was filled with silence for over five minutes.

Then the door slid open and a comforting sight made me smile as wide as I could. Baba and Papa had entered the room, both hurrying over to my bed, each one on opposite sides. Baba immediately leaned over and kissed my cheek and forehead. "Good morning my little Kiyo-chan."

"Morning, Baba. Morning, Papa," I greeted, grinning when Papa reached down to kiss the top of my head. "How did you guys get here?"

"Nezu-san was kind enough to arrange transportation," Baba explained, pulling the blankets up around me and tucking me in better. "How are you feeling, sugar?"

"I'm okay," I reassured them. "Who's watching the farm?"

"Takashi," Papa answered. "Don't worry, it's not going to burn down while we're away."

"I know, I just worry."

"You're too young to be doing that," Baba lightly scolded me, brushing back my hair. "Are you hungry?"

The thought of eating made my stomach churn and I shook my head. "No, thank you though."

Papa cleared his throat. "Have you had a chance to talk with your teachers?"

"Uh, um, actually no. The last thing I remember was being with Katsuki after we, um, we escaped?" I said the word escaped hesitantly because that part was extremely blurry to me. It was shrouded in a thick fog and when I tried to focus on it I found it slipping further away from me.

"Well," Papa began, "your, ah, shishou talked with us quite a bit. They're building a dorm at the school and—"

"I'm not moving there," I immediately cut in, instinctively sensing where this was going.

"Now hold on a moment, Kiyo," Papa said sternly. "We know you worry 'bout us, but we aren't that old. We're in good health and we'll be dandy on our own. Refusing this opportunity simply 'cause of us isn' right. This is about yer—er—your safety. These darn villains are dangerous and Mimi and I both think you need to stay at school."

"I can teleport to school, though," I argued, "I don't need to stay at a dormitory for safety—"

Baba cut in softly, "Kiyomi."

The rest of my argument died on my lips, as I looked over at my Baba. Her gray eyes were staring back at me with steely determination. A glance at Papa showed a mirroring look and I knew that no argument—however logical—would persuade them from this. They both genuinely believed it was best for me.

"You've given up a lot to help us, and take care of us," Baba continued quietly. "We love you, Kiyo-chan, and we're so grateful to have you as our child. But you need to put yourself first, too. We won't let you pick us over you again."

"Baba—"

"Enough, Kiyo-chan. You can still visit us on the weekends, but during the weekdays you have to promise us to stay at school."

I bit my lip. "Okay. I promise."

"Atta girl," Papa praised. "Now you focus on getting better, alright?"

"Alright."

They both smiled warmly at me before they pulled up some seats and our conversation switched over to meaningless chatter. Baba talked about the latest town gossip while Papa added a crude commentary on some of the information. It was familiar white noise, and I found myself relaxing as they chatted.

It certainly couldn't have been more than a few hours after they came into my room that there was a soft knock at the door and Papa said, "Come in."

The door slid open and Shōto came into the room carrying a bouquet of flowers. "Hello."

"Oh, are those for Kiyo-chan?" Baba gushed, standing up and hurrying over to examine them. It was an assortment of different flowers and I only recognized a few of them from the distance. Baba beamed at Shōto, taking the bouquet from him and pulling him into a hug before she kissed his forehead. "Such a sweet boy!"

Shōto shifted awkwardly when Baba pulled away to place them in a nearby vase. Baba had always been affectionate with my friends, and while Shōto knew each time he visited he would receive a hug from her he never really got used to it.

Papa stood up to greet Shōto with a handshake before pulling him into his own hug (Papa was also very affectionate). "How are you, Shōto? I heard you tried to rescue Kiyo-chan."

"I'm fine, sir," Shōto answered, shuffling his feet and shoving his hands in his jean pockets. "Uh, and yes. A group of us tried to rescue Kiyo-chan and Bakugou-kun."

"Oh my," Baba tutted. "That was very dangerous, you should really take care of yourself Sho-chan!"

"Yes, Baba. Sorry, Baba," Shōto apologized.

Baba made another disapproving noise before smiling. "Dan and I were about to go get lunch. Would you mind staying here with Kiyo-chan for us?"

"Not at all," Shōto said quickly.

"Have you eaten?" Papa asked.

"Ye—" Shōto squirmed under Baba's stern gaze. "No, sir."

"We'll bring you back something then, dear," Baba said, patting Shōto's shoulder. "Kiyo-chan, sit tight for a bit, okay?"

"Okay."

Shōto stood awkwardly at the door for a few seconds before he took a seat where Papa had previously been sitting. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," I answered. "They were actually able to repair a lot of the damage, so I should be good to go in a couple days."

"A lot? Was there something they couldn't?"

Gesturing towards my left shoulder I said, "I'll have some burns on my shoulder, but nothing deep enough to worry about. The muscles are fine."

A worried look flickered across his face. "Are you—Are you okay with that?"

"Of course. You can't be in this business and not expect to earn a few scars."

"I—I suppose that's true."

I reached over and grabbed one of his hands, giving it a squeeze. "So... you tried to rescue me?"

He flushed. "W-Well, yes."

"Aww. Were you my prince charming?"

"Shut up," he responded eloquently, his cheeks turning a darker shade of red. It made me giggle. "Did they tell you about the dorms?"

That made me sigh. "Yeah. I'll have to stay there during the weekdays. Urk. I know I'm going to be constantly worried about them, though."

He squeezed my hand. "They'll be okay. They live in a good town, and people will check on them."

"Yeah, I know, I just—"

"Worry more than there are stars in the sky?"

My lips twitched. "Something like that."

◟(◕◡◕❀)

My stay in the hospital lasted another three days and my friends each visited me during that time. Ochaco was nearly hysterical during her visit, crying in my arms about how she shouldn't have left me. It took over an hour of reassurances before she was consoled, and we spent the rest of our time munching on goodies she brought from the cafe.

Once I was discharged I already had to head home and start packing for the move into the dorms.

Packing up for the dorms took a solid day. Because of how far we lived there wasn't a lot of moving trucks that could reach us, so I ended up having to teleport all of my furniture into Nezu's office and he'd have workers bring it over to the dorms for me (I couldn't teleport straight to the dorms as I didn't have a solid picture of where it was, or what it looked like).

A lot of my aunties and older sisters stopped by that Saturday to bring over some hand-me-down clothes they had fixed up since I was going to a "posh" school with those "city girls and boys."

(Plus they wanted to drink wine with Baba while Baba bemoaned her baby girl growing up in an overly dramatic fashion that only grandmothers could pull off.)

Aunty Hanako and her daughter, Sissy Kiki, made lunches and sweets in the kitchen while the rest of us put things into worn boxes that by that point were 70% tape.

Sissy Oriha cooed as she held up a crop top, "Oh this will look so cute on you, Kiyo-chan." She and the other sisters were going through the hand-me-downs they had brought over to make sure they'd fit me okay. A few of them required a quick patch job which was done on the spot. "Try it on."

"But that will show off her scars," Aunty Ari protested.

"Scars are sexy, though," Sissy Akamali dismissed.

"On men."

"Don't be so old, grandma," Sissy Oriha scolded.

Aunty Ari sniffed at that, pulling out another shirt that was cut off at the midriff but had sleeves. "Here, Kiyo-chan, try this."

"And this!" Sissy Kagome threw a skirt my way.

"I'm not a doll," I protested.

"Yes, you are," everyone informed me.

I spluttered, but Sissy Sayako grabbed me by the upper arm with a grip only a farmer's child could have and dragged me to my nearly empty bedroom. "You and I both know who'll win if you try to fight it."

I pouted at that but gave a sigh of resignation shortly afterward.

I accepted my fate as their doll for the day.

The actual packing didn't get done until Papa got home and saved me from the dress-up nightmare. He had me help out in grilling dinner while the rest of the girls fought over which clothes deserved to be packed away (since I would only have so much room in my dresser). Only by 11 that night did everyone leave, satisfied, and did I drop off the last of the boxes.

That night I crashed on our spare mat, only waking up when I could smell Papa and Baba making breakfast for me before I would head out to the dorms.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

"For now, I'm glad that we were able to bring Class 1-A back together again," Aizawa began as the entire class of 1A showed up outside the dorms. Despite his warm words, his face remained, as always, stoic.

"Everyone was allowed to enter the dorms, huh?" Sero commented, looking around the group.

Toru gave a big sigh. "I had a hard time."

"That's to be expected though, right?" Kyōka scratched her right cheek sheepishly.

"The two of you were directly affected by the gas," Mashirao observed.

Tsuyu added, "We were all able to be together again because of the teachers. When I watched the press conference I thought we'd lose them, and it made me sad."

Aizawa responded with, "I was surprised, too. Well I'm sure everyone has different circumstances. Now I'll explain briefly about the dorm, but first—" Aizawa clapped his hands together. "For now we will focus on getting the provisional licenses we were planning to have you get during the training camp. This is important, so listen up. Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Midoriya, Iida. These five went to save Bakugou and Kiyo that night."

A shot of anxiety pierced through my stomach when Aizawa brought that up. It was, well, it was rather embarrassing to have been kidnapped in the first place. Heroes did the saving, not the other way around. Granted, there really wasn't a lot I could do under the circumstances. The villains knew about my Magi Quirk and each carried around a bag of Magi Dust to prevent me from escaping. I had to stay and try to hold the blue-flames guy off. He was way too dangerous for me to face with Ochaco—especially considering I had never fought alongside Ochaco before. I could probably do so fine against an average enemy and adjust my style, but against such a dangerous foe? It would have been too risky for both of us.

Still—

An unease had settled over the entire class from Aizawa's words, and I hadn't realized that I had unconsciously shifted into a more defensive stance.

Aizawa let out a sigh. "Your reactions tell me that you all were at least aware of it. I'm going to set aside a number of issues and say this: If it weren't for All Might's retirement, I would've expelled everyone except Bakugou, Kyōka, Hagakure, and Kiyo. Of course the five that went, but also the twelve that knew but didn't stop them betrayed our trust, no matter what the reason. I would be grateful if you could follow the proper procedures and act properly in order to regain that trust. That's all."

Aizawa abruptly turned around and started to walk towards the dorms. "Now we're going inside. Let's have some energy."

There was a definite cold hanging over the class from his stern words, however. Even though Aizawa had never raised his voice, the chill in his eyes and venom in his tones conveyed twice as much anger. In my half decade of knowing him I had only ever seen him that angry a few times. The first one being when a student very nearly killed his classmates when trying to show off his ability—he was fuming and short-tempered for a week after that one. The second time being when the same student tried to get his expulsion repealed.

That actually elicited a sincere shithead from Aizawa.

Even now when he tried to go back to casual I could still see the tension in his shoulders and how his hands were kept deep in his pockets, as if to keep from showing them clenching into fists and relaxing.

It was understandable how no one felt chirper after that, and plenty were downcast and chastised.

I felt guilty for it. I knew it wasn't my fault for being kidnapped, but if I hadn't been none of them would be upset.

Logically I knew I shouldn't feel bad, but at that moment my heart wasn't in agreement with my brain.

I was suddenly pulled from my observations when the sound of electricity cracking into the air behind the group. Turning around I saw Denki stumbling out from behind some bushes, his brain completely fried. I noticed Katsuki was behind him, a small tinge of red on his cheeks, and shoving his hands in his pockets.

My fellow classmates laughed at Denki's ridiculous expression from overusing his Quirk, and once laughter filled the area, the gloomy atmosphere lifted and we followed behind Aizawa.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

As the doors swung open Aizawa said, "Each student dorm building holds one class. Girls on the right, and boys on the left. But the first floor is the common area. Foods, baths, and laundry are on this area."

We entered the ridiculously immaculate dorm with starstruck eyes. Just the common area was bigger than five farm houses put together. It was like a mansion!

There were sounds of exclamations as everyone took everything in with wide, wide eyes. Aizawa eventually guided us up to the second floor to show off some of the rooms.

"Rooms start on the second floor. There are four rooms per gender on each floor with five floors total. Everyone gets their own room. They're luxurious spaces equipped with their own AC, toilets, fridges, and closets. These are your rooms. The belongings you sent ahead have already been placed in your rooms, so unpack and get settled in today. I'll tell you more about what will happen from now on tomorrow. That's all, dismissed."

"Yes, Sensei!"

◟(◕◡◕❀)

I was really happy to find that I was on the same floor as Ochaco, Momo, and Mina. My room was opposite of Ochaco's, and next to Momo's. When it was time to start setting our rooms up Mina first set up her stereo and started blasting out "montage" music. We kept our doors open so we could listen, and chat while we worked. More than once I would catch one of the girls in the hallway about to get something and start dancing with them.

It caused things to take longer than they normally would but it was all in good fun.

I didn't have nearly as much stuff to set up as some of the other girls, so when I was done I headed down to the kitchens and started baking cupcakes and cookies as a thank you and apology for the whole kidnapping fiasco.

I swept my hair up into a bun and slipped on a white bandanna to keep any hair from falling into batter. From there, I tied on my red and white apron and changed into proper house slippers. The kitchen was a short walk away and I was abundantly pleased to see it was well stocked with staple ingredients. I was sad to notice that they didn't have some of the fresher herbs I was used to working with, but I could always pop back home to grab some.

Since they had everything I needed for the sugar cookies (Baba's famous recipe, of course) and the red velvet cream cheese cupcakes I got straight to work.

The cake batter had to be made first since that would take the longest—cookies only required a solid ten minutes in an oven unless the batter was really wet—then the cream cheese icing so it could be chilled.

They didn't have any food dyes so I had to teleport back home and grab a few things.

It didn't take more than an hour and a half to finish baking everything and have them set out to cool. Of course as soon as I pulled out the cookies from the oven my classmates started drifting in one at a time.

Izuku was the first, practically sprinting inside with an overly excited look on his face and a cry of, "Baba's sugar cookies?!"

I laughed as he hopped from one foot to the other in place. "Yep! Baba's sugar cookies."

His big grin in response was adorable and I reached over to pinch his cheek like my Aunties always did. "You're too cute, Izu-chan."

That got a blush and a splutter which made me laugh again. Denki, Mina, and Sero were the next ones in with Mina giving a big inhale. "Ah! It smells so good."

"Well the cupcakes need to cool a bit more before I can ice, so you'll have to wait a bit more," I apologized.

"Cupcakes and cookies? Ah, what a day to be alive," Denki said.

Mina snuck a sugar cookie before I could swat her hand away. She took a bite and gave a dramatic cry of, "Oh my God it's like heaven in my mouth."

"I SMELL BABA'S SUGAR COOKIES!" Ochaco screamed as she ran into the kitchen full sprint. She stumbled to a halt before she slammed into one of the counters, big brown eyes looking pleadingly at me and the plate of cookies.

"Okay fine you guys can start eating the cookies," I said with a roll of my eyes.

Izuku and Ochaco dove for them, both snatching up three and devouring the first one in a blink of an eye.

Denki tried one and clutched at his heart before hollering, "Todoroki I'm about to steal your wife!"

Less than a minute later Shōto showed up with a baffled expression on his face. "What?"

"You better treat these cookies like the blessing they are!" Mina exclaimed, slinging an arm around my waist. "You have yourself a blessed waifu."

"I'm not his waifu," I insisted.

"How come you're always denying it, but not Todoroki-kun?" Ochaco asked, looking over at Shōto with a raised eyebrow.

Shōto blinked once. "She is not my wife."

"These cookies are my new wives," Mina informed us as she grabbed her sixth cookie.

"How dare you not marry this princess who makes the best cookies," Ochaco objected on my behalf, mock offended. She glared at Shōto. "You take that back right now."

Poor Shōto was looking increasingly confused.

Eijirō and Tenya came in next, drawn in by the noise and smell. Eijirō's face lit up. "Are those cupcakes! Red velvet, too? Aw man this is awesome, thanks Kiyo-chan."

"I'm just about to ice them if don't mind waiting a minute."

"I would wait for eternity for these cookies," Denki whispered.

"Oh, are those Baba's cookies? They were quite good," Tenya commented, taking a couple.

"How dare you!" Mina and Ochaco blustered.

"Good?!" Ochaco demanded. "I think you mean perfection given form."

"It's heaven in a bite!" Mina agreed.

"Well—"

"Heaven. In. A. Bite." Mina kept direct eye contact with Tenya as she slowly ate another cookie. "Say it before you offend the cookie gods."

"It's heaven in a bite," Tenya said carefully, not wanting to incite Mina's surprising wrath over cookies.

More people came in until nearly the entire student body of Class A—minus Katsuki and Tsuyu—had congregated into the kitchen and munched on cookies and cupcakes.

"You know what would be a good idea?" Mina asked perkily. "A room presentation contest!"

"Ah, that sounds great!" Ochaco cheered. "Let's do it!"

Immediately almost all of the girls were on board, and enough of the boys agreed to it that it started. They grabbed the rest of the sugary delights to go and started to head out, while I remained in the kitchen.

"Kiyo-chan, you coming?" Ochaco asked.

"I'll have to pass," I apologized, "I really should clean up in here before things start to crust."

"I'll help," Shōto offered, stepping away from the group and heading towards the sink.

"She is so your wife," Mina muttered.

"He hasn't even asked me on a date," I protested.

"Wife," Ochaco and Mina repeated together.

Shōto and I decided not to waste the energy in protesting, and the group headed off without us.

I turned on the hot water and started cleaning the dishes. I washed, while Shōto dried.

"Thank you," I told him quietly.

"Don't mention it," he responded. "You... doing okay?"

"Yeah."

He looked down at the dishes. "Good."

In comfortable silence we worked.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

In a quiet little farming town in Japan...

The man had always been loyal to All for One.

Until the day he fell in love, that is.

Bit by bit his loyalty started to chip away as he started to enjoy life outside of being a hired killer. Then the day came he had a daughter, and he decided to retire.

Years had passed by and he thought he was in the clear. He thought his old boss would let him be in honor of his past years of service.

But that was not the case.

Because Death's Kiss visited his daughter and wife while he was away, with her dark red eyes like a devil.

She took everything.

He could only repay the favor.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

BONUS FWUFFY FWUFF OF FWUFFINESS - Ennichi Festival - this was originally posted on tumblr, but as promised I put it at the end of chapter thirteen.

I yawned in my seat, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Eh? Sleepy?" Ochaco asked, taking her seat beside me.

"Mm. I guess. I had to stay up late last night."

"Huh? How come?"

"My aunties came over last night to adjust my yukata, but they ended up making a new one. I had to stay up last night while they took measurements, and fussed over it. I didn't get to bed until three and then I had to get up at four to help with farmwork." I gave another big yawn, resting my head on my desk.

Ochaco reached over and rubbed my back. "Sounds rough. How come you need a yukata?"

"Ah? Oh for the Ennichi Festival tonight—"

"Eh?!" Ochaco's voice switched several octaves higher than usual as she squealed. "The Ennichi Festival is tonight?! Oh my gosh, thank goodness I got my paycheck. Oh I can't wait to go. So you're going, too?"

"Yeah, Sho-chan asked to go see the fireworks together," I answered her.

Ochaco squealed again, grabbing her cheeks. "Oh my gosh it's a date!"

"It's not a date," I corrected her tiredly. "Ugh. I need coffee."

Despite my insistence it was not a date Ochaco kept giving me a sly look, with my only reprieve when she went to go tell Toru about the festival outside of class. Even after the rest of our friends arrived and classes started she still occasionally shot me a smug smile.

As soon as classes ended that day I hurried home before she could tease me further.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

Momo's perspective, before class

Momo heard Ochaco and Toru shouting excitedly outside of the classroom. Curious, she approached them (wearing her standard gentle smile) and inquired, "Uraraka-san, Hagakure-san, you both seem very excited. What are you girls going on about?"

"Ah, Yaoyorozu-san!" Toru chirped. "I visited a shrine and there was a sign about the Ennichi festival that's happening this evening."

"Ennichi?" Momo repeated slowly. "It must be a shrine that is directly related to the religion of Shinto or Buddhism. They perform a special ritual there where food is offered. I apologize, I didn't know Hagakure-san was so deeply spiritual."

"No, to me Ennichi is all about the celebration and not so much the religion."

"Celebration?" Momo tilted her head in confusion. "But the festival should be all about preserving and continuing the tradition of remembering Buddha."

"Goodness, that's just wro-o-ong!" Toru cried out.

Ochaco added, "Yaoyorozu-san you're way too serious about the history. You've got to be more open-minded."

"Yeah, our view of Ennichi festival is all about the fantastic food stalls. Okonomiyaki, yakisoba, you can feast on them all and be glad about it!"

"Ah, so that's what Ennichi festival is all about," Momo concluded, believing she understood now.

"It's good that you get it, do you want to come with us?" Ochaco offered, grinning hugely.

Momo's brow furrowed and she looked away. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to exclude myself from this get together. I don't think I have the opportunity to go this time around."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Eh? But it'll be so much fun," Toru whined.

Momo shook her head regretfully. "My mother definitely wouldn't allow it. She told me not to bother with the sweets and snacks the festival sells, because real dessert specialists can make better stuff than those unhealthy sweets. And also because you're bound to get sick from festival food."

"Your mom antagonizes the festival too much," Toru told her. "I think she made all the stall owners her enemy. Just throw back a bit and enjoy!"

"Enjoy?"

Ochaco frowned. "Um, Yaoyorozu-san, could it be that you have never been to the festival before?"

"No. Ever since I was a child I was told by my mother that it is not necessary to go."

"WHAT A WASTE!" Ochaco and Toru cried out, genuinely upset by such horror.

Ochaco was quick to follow up with, "How could you miss such a fun and tasty event?"

"Really! You do know that it's such a fun place, right? This festival is the essence of the Japanese spirit. It's the heart. As a girl, there's no way you can pass this chance to go."

"Oh..."

"Ah, Hagakure-san, let's stop pushing her," Ochaco said quietly, looking over at Momo's conflicted expression. "Yaoyorozu-san should have the right to decide for herself. It's her own choice whether or not to go. Yaoyorozu-san we're sorry if we made you uncomfortable."

"No, it's okay," Momo reassured them, her expression still conflicted as she thought about their previous statements.

Toru and Ochaco gave her bright smiles before taking their leave, deciding to invite the other girls in class. Momo watched them leave, wondering what she should do.

'The Ennichi must actually be really fun,' she thought to herself.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

Later that night

'I-I can't believe I came here by myself,' Momo thought worriedly to herself. She stood at the entrance of the festival, anxiously shifting her weight as she tried to work up the nerve to go in.

A part of her was thrilled—the festival seemed so exciting!—but another part of her was terrified of what her mother would say if she found out.

"Huh? Momo-chan?"

Momo looked over nervously at the voice, relieved to find that it belonged to one of her classmates, Kiyomi. The class rep had dressed up in a stylish red yukata, her hair swept up in a neat bun with a few curls poking out. Momo thought she looked cute in that, and seeing Kiyomi smile brightly at her made her reflexively smile back.

It was hard not to smile back at Kiyomi.

Momo waved at Kiyomi, not surprised to find Shōto—in casual clothes which seemed lackluster in comparison to how much Kiyomi had dressed up—beside her and holding her hand. "Hi."

Kiyomi's eyes brightened. "You look so adorable, Momo-chan! That yukata really suits you."

Momo blushed, looking down at her own dark blue yukata. It was something she had made on the fly, so she wasn't certain it was up to the standards of everyone else. It felt nice to be complimented on it, though.

Kiyomi nudged Shōto. "Doesn't she look pretty, Sho-chan?"

Shōto looked over at her. "You look very nice, Yaoyorozu-san."

Momo gave a small giggle at that. "Thank you both. Are you here on a date?"

"Mn-mn!" Kiyomi denied, shaking her head. "Sho-chan and I are here mostly for the fireworks. Did you come by yourself?"

"Oh, um, actually, yes," Momo admitted shyly. "I—I have never been to a festival, so, I, um." The young heiress couldn't resist fidgeting anxiously with the end of her sleeves.

Kiyomi approached Momo, taking one of her hands and intertwining her fingers. "Then why don't you spend the night with us? The fireworks won't happen for a while longer, and we can show you around the festival."

"Oh, I couldn't impose—"

Kiyomi gave Momo's hand a squeeze, her gaze softening. At times Momo felt like Kiyomi acted like a mother when she looked at others with that gaze. Her eyes sometimes appeared to belong to someone older, but still kind. "I insist."

Momo relaxed minutely under that look, giving a relieved smile. "Thank you."

"Mn! Don't mention it," Kiyomi said, holding out her other hand for Shōto to take it. Her childhood friend obliged, and the three of them began their journey into the festival.

Kiyomi swung their hands back and forth for a bit a she guided them towards the first booth. "Hehe! First thing's first and that's food."

Momo's expression momentarily clouded, recalling that her mother would detest her eating such "junk food" as she would call it. Kiyomi ordered three takoyakis and handed them to Momo and Shōto before keeping one for herself.

Momo automatically accepted the food, even as she reluctantly stared at it. Kiyomi seemed to be thoroughly enjoying hers—she was already nearly finished devouring it and was trying to steal some from Shōto who swatted her hand away with habitual ease.

When she noticed that Momo had touched any of her own food, however, she looked over at her with concern. "Momo-chan? Are you allergic?"

"Ah, no," Momo responded, biting on her bottom lip for a brief moment. "My mother wouldn't like me eating this kind of stuff."

"Hmm," Kiyomi hummed. "Well, sometimes what mothers don't know won't hurt them."

Momo gave her a scandalized look. "But—"

"Go on, give it a try. It's your first festival, you have to try all the food," Kiyomi insisted, a gleam in her eyes. Under Kiyomi's encouragement Momo took a tentative bite.

Momo's eyes widened. "Oh my! This is actually really good."

"Ri-ight? Festival food is always the best. 50-50 chance you'll get sick later, but it's completely worth it," Kiyomi said cheerfully.

Shōto wrinkled his nose at that. "You're not the one holding back hair."

"And thank you in advance for that," Kiyomi giggled, playfully nudging Shōto. She also tried to swipe his last takoyaki but he quickly popped it in his mouth before she could do so. "How rude!"

"I will buy you another one if you stop trying to steal from me."

"But stolen food tastes so much better!"

Momo giggled at Shōto's exasperated expression. Kiyomi stuck her tongue out before her face brightened. "Let's try all the food now!"

"Okay," Momo agreed, curious and excited to see what else might taste as good as takoyaki. Kiyomi held Momo and Shōto's hands as they went to each food stall, and without fail she continuously tried (and never succeeded) to steal food from Shōto. It was entertaining for Momo to watch, finding their friendly banter and relaxed demeanour calming. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't been incredibly nervous about coming to the festival on her own, but she was genuinely glad she had.

Near the end of the food stalls the trio took a seat at one of the benches. Momo rubbed at her stomach, letting out a content sigh. "All of that food was really great."

"Mm-hmm," Kiyomi agreed, leaning heavily on Shōto and sighing. "I could eat festival food my entire life."

"You'd get sick of it after a week," Shōto corrected her.

"Don't be a stick in the mud."

He reached over and tugged on her hair, eliciting an mock glower.

"Oh!"

The trio looked up to find Ochaco and Toru from their class heading over to them with their arms filled with food. Both girls were dressed in cute yukatas, with Ochaco wearing a pale pink and Toru a baby blue.

"Yaoyorozu-san, you made it," Ochaco said cheerfully. "How do you like it?"

"It's a lot of fun," Momo admitted with a smile. "Kiyo-chan and Todoroki-kun have been showing me around."

"If we knew you were coming we would have waited for you," Toru exclaimed. "Where else have you been? Did you see the games yet?"

"Oh not yet."

"You have to come with us," Ochaco said, grabbing Momo's hand. It was impressive she was managing to hold all her food with one arm. She looked over at Kiyomi and gave the pinkette a wink.

Momo found it odd that Kiyomi's cheeks turned red and she looked away with a huff.

Toru, catching Ochaco's hint, grabbed Momo's other hand. "Yeah, c'mon. Let's eat together over here."

Momo smiled at that, happy that her classmates wanted to spend time with her. She felt bad about simply leaving Kiyomi and Shōto, however, since both were kind of enough to be her escorts. She looked back over at them. "Oh, I don't mean to simply leave—"

"It's okay, as long as you have fun," Kiyomi reassured her with a smile. "Text me before you leave and I'll walk you home, okay?"

"Thank you!" Momo responded, sincerely grateful for that offer. With a big smile on her face she allowed Ochaco and Toru to drag her off for more food and to play games.

It was truly a wonderful and memorable night for Momo.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

Kiyomi watched the trio leave before she looked back over at Shōto and gave him a soft smile. "You want to go find a spot for the fireworks now?"

"Yeah," Shōto said. "Can you get us up there?" Shōto pointed towards one of the hills by the shrine.

Kiyomi took his hand and with ease she teleported both of them atop the hill in one of the trees. She took a seat on the sturdy branch, Shōto following suit. Their hands rested in her lap where she played with their fingers as they patiently waited for the fireworks.

Neither felt the need to break the comfortable silence. The weather was nice, the sky was clear, and the fireworks would be starting shortly.

"Kiyo-chan?" Shōto asked.

"Mn?"

He looked down at their hands, his brow furrowed. "You look very nice, too. Nicer than... than others."

Kiyomi giggled at that. "Thank you, Sho-chan."

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but the fireworks started and their attention was drawn up towards the sky.

They always watched fireworks together, after all.

And at the end of the night Kiyomi did what she always did after they would watch fireworks. She leaned over and kissed Shōto's cheek goodnight and said, "Thank you for taking me to see the fireworks."

"Always," Shōto promised her.

◟(◕◡◕❀)

Artwork of the Ennichi Festival was drawn by thejunestone on deviantART, so check it out if you can!

Keeping everyone posted: I've finished my first draft of my original story (Dawn of the Rose)! It's at 345 pages when formatted, and I now have an editor going through it. You can read the first three (unedited) chapters on my wattpad (Darkpetal16) account, or see artwork for it on tumblr (Magic-of-Dawn-Official).

I did try writing out the super climatic battle between All Might and All for One, but I didn't like how it turned out. Plus there wasn't really any changes to it in my story so I didn't see a point to it.

Answer: I'd want to be friends with Shōto or Izuku. Both seemed like steadfast and loyal friends. I'd want to be trained under Nezu because he strikes me as a really great teacher, someone who truly cares about his students.

Question: What would be a good symbol for you? A flower? A cat? A laptop?

Reviews are love!