(Y/n) let out a yawn, one hand trying to untangle the knots in her unruly hair as she walked downstairs. She had slept since the previous day to the morning after, only waking up in the middle of the night to get a snack. The girl counted that as one of the best sleep she's had in a while, energizing her fully for the next day.

On waking up, she felt a tad bit disappointed to find Katsuki gone but she couldn't dwell on that forever. He had other obligations to attend to anyway.

As the girl approached the kitchen, she mentally prayed her aunt wasn't in there. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone that early in the morning. Her prayers were crushed however when she entered the kitchen and saw the woman sitting on the counter chair, busying herself on her phone.

Shit, this must be bad luck. The girl groaned inwardly, choosing to ignore her aunt and head straight for the fridge.

When her aunt noticed her presence, she looked up from her phone to the girl, concern writing on her face.

"Morning sweetie," she greeted in a soft voice as she placed her phone on the counter.

"Hey," (Y/n) mumbled without looking at her, opening the fridge to take out a milk carton and placing it on the counter next to the fridge before taking out a small bowl from the dish rack.

Nanami frowned at her stand-offish answer and narrowed her eyes at the girl who was pouring cereals into a bowl, her back turned towards the woman. Ever since the previous morning, she noticed that (Y/n) had been looking glum, avoiding her and her questions at all costs. She even missed breakfast the previous morning, choosing to go straight to school instead. And when Nanami got home, she was surprised to find the front door unlocked and was even more surprised to find (Y/n) fast asleep in her bed. Another odd thing was the bottle of sleeping pills she found on the girl's bedside table. Her first thought was that she was abusing the pills but she brushed the thoughts as irrational, choosing to question her the next morning.

But as she observed (Y/n) at the moment, she sensed that getting answers would not be easy.

"So dear, you didn't tell me that you were going to skip school yesterday," Nanami began, treading carefully in case (Y/n) woke up with mood swings.

The girl sighed wearily and placed the milk carton down after pouring some into her cereal. "I forgot."

Nanami's eyebrows furrowed, not satisfied with her half-assed answer. "I need a more defined answer than that (Y/n). And will you look at me?"

The girl let out a long, drawn out sigh while rolling her eyes before she took her bowl and hesitantly turned around, leaning her back on the counter. Her irritated eyes met the stern ones of Nanami and she shrugged in a silent 'what do you want?'.

The woman sat up straight in her seat and pursed her lips. "What's going on with you, huh?"

"Nothing," (Y/n) shook her head and lowered her gaze to her bowl, taking her spoon and digging it into the cereal.

"That doesn't look like nothing to me, (Y/n). You avoid me the whole of yesterday, you skip school, use sleeping pills, mood swings...Is this one of those phases you teenagers go through?"

"This is not a phase. I'm fine," (Y/n) deadpanned before shoving another cereal-filled spoon in her mouth.

Nanami eyed her as though her bullshit meter was ticking in the red zone and she inhaled impatiently. (Y/n) held her gaze, her face void of emotions as she chewed on her cereal.

"You're not fine," the woman broke the silence, briefly pointing at the girl.

“Your point…” (Y/n) scoffed and shook her head, her eyes looking away from Nanami and falling elsewhere. In truth, she didn't want her aunt to figure out what was wrong with her. She didn't want her sympathy stares and advises about finding other fishes in the big blue sea. But even though she didn't want that, Nanami knew her well than any other person and she'd find out sooner or later.

"My point is, (Y/n). I'm not letting you leave this house until I know what's wrong with you," Nanami promised in a stern voice, her eyes glued on the girl.

The female retained her eyes on the wall as she swallowed.

Great. I should've just skipped breakfast. She frowned. Starving myself to death doesn't sound half as bad if it's against having this conversation right now.

The adult was getting agitated by her stubborn silence and lack of eye contact. She was simply doing this out of care and concern for her. It wasn't common for the girl to hide some things from Nanami, especially at her age, but seeing how the problem she was currently facing was affecting her behavior, Nanami couldn't just let it go.

"(Y/n)."

Said girl groaned in defeat and looked at the pressuring woman. "Fine! You wanna know? Okay! I'll tell you then! I broke up with Shouto. Actually no, he broke up with me. There, I said it. Happy now?"

Nanami's mouth fell wide open at her revelation, her heart filling with empathy for her daughter.

"Sweetie," she trailed off, placing her hand on her chest as she got off the chair. "I-I didn't know. I'm...really sorry..."

The girl looked away from her sympathy-filled eyes and frowned a bit. "Don't feel sorry. I fucked it up anyway. I always do."

The woman knitted her eyebrows at her words in confusion. "What do you mean?"

(Y/n) briefly glanced at her and shook her head. "Never mind. It already happened anyway."

"Is this...is this about that Katsuki?"

The girl huffed in disbelief. "Oh my God! No! Why do you people drag Katsuki in everything?! Huh?! Problems with Shouto and I, it's Katsuki. Shouto gets mad, it's Katsuki. I look like I'm carrying the world's problems, it's Katsuki. I die, it's Katsuki. What's next? The world ends, it's Katsuki? Like, really?"

Nanami sighed at her sudden defensive behavior upon the mere mention of Katsuki. She had already pinpointed the reason why they had broken up. It must've been something to do with the ash-blond but she knew better than pushing it since it was still a sensitive for (Y/n).

"Okay okay, dear. You know that's not what I meant," the woman held up her arms as she tried to pacify the irritated girl.

"Then stop bringing him into things," (Y/n) retorted angrily before shoving another spoon of her forgotten cereal into her mouth.

Nanami nodded and smiled. "I won't. Just calm down okay. I get it. I know how you feel. I've been there before, many times in fact. But my advice to you is that you need to keep your raging emotions in check before you do something you might regret."

"Yeah, whatever," the girl muttered under her breath as she rolled her eyes, still agitated. She couldn't help it. She had woken up in a slightly bad mood and even the mere sight of her aunt made her feel angry.

Is this how Fireworks feels on a daily basis? Jeez.

"C'mere."

(Y/n) looked back at the woman who had her arms spread on either side to welcome her into a hug. The girl stared at the invitation for a while before she sighed. She placed the bowl on the counter behind her and accepted the hug, her arms going around the woman's waist.

"It's going to be okay honey. Don't worry," Nanami cooed, her hand stroking the girl's hair lovingly.

(Y/n) nodded, staring at the distance as she struggled to swallow the lump forming in her throat. This is exactly why she didn't want to meet with her aunt.

She'd hug her and remind her that her heart was still hurting and she'd start to cry all over again. She was exhausted from bawling her eyes out but it was like her ducts had a never-ending supply of tears, waiting for the perfect opportunity to let loose the waterworks. The girl had done a perfect job of restraining her mind from thinking about the breakup ever since she woke up but now, she was reminded of it again, 'awaking' her wounded heart.

(Y/n) blinked back the tears and pulled away from the woman who knitted her eyebrows at her withdrawal. (Y/n) sent a strained smile, her pained face silently telling her that she didn't want to cry in the morning.

Nanami nodded in understanding and kissed her forehead with a 'I'll see you later' before exiting the room.

(Y/n) furrowed her eyebrows upon feeling something odd. She raised her hand to her head and her fingertips grazed the part where her aunt kissed. She felt this weird feeling in her gut, like she had been kissed before on the same spot.

Must be some dream...or deja vu...

The girl dismissed the thoughts and inhaled deeply, composing herself before she went back to finishing her cereal.

***

(Y/n) closed the front door behind her, her other hand holding onto her school bag. She then zipped close her bag and slung the strap on her shoulder.

When she was about to take the first step, she looked up and stopped in her tracks. Shaking out of her surprised state, she frowned as she made her way to the boy.

"What're you doing here?" she asked once she was in front of him.

Katsuki clicked his tongue at the obvious question and rolled his eyes. "Baking doughnuts...What the fuck do you think I'm doing here?!"

(Y/n) shrugged nonchalantly and began walking towards the general direction of the school. The ash-blond scowled at her aloof character and his hand shot out to grab her wrist, yanking her back to a stop.

The girl looked over her shoulder in question, her eyes falling on the point of contact before going up to the male's red ones.

"You okay?" he inquired, his eyes softened in concern though his face still maintained its usual frown.

Sadness passed in her eyes but was gone within seconds as she sent the male a fake smile while nodding.

Katsuki's frown deepened as he glared at her. "Don't fucking do that."

(Y/n)'s smile fell and she looked at him in confusion. "Do what?"

"Don't say you're fucking fine when I know you're not."

(Y/n)’s eyebrows rose at his statement.

A small blush appeared on his cheeks and he quickly let her hand go, shoving it into his pocket. (Y/n)'s eyes trailed down to her hand where he had previously held onto. She still had a distant expression on as she stared at her hand.

Katsuki, on the other hand, thought that he had offended her by grabbing her hand. He had done it out of instinct and not out of ill will. Normally, he wouldn't care what she thought but at the moment, her emotions were unpredictable and she could go off at any moment.

What he didn't predict was the smile that slowly grew on her lips as she looked up at him. His eyes widened a bit as he stared at the smiling girl. This smile was unlike all the other fake ones she kept up since the previous day. It was from her heart, touched by his concern. She found it nice to have him around when she felt like utter shit. It wasn't as lonely.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine...One day," she said and nudged her head to the direction of their school. "C'mon. Let's go. We'll be late."

***

(Y/n) stared in boredom at All Might who was briefing them about a combat training they were about to do.

"And here!" he announced, placing a small box on the podium. "We'll be doing this in pairs chosen by lots! Now the first team..."

The girl listened intently as he read out the teams, hoping against all hopes that she wasn't paired up with Shouto.

"Young (Y/n) and Young Shoji in team E against..."

The girl sighed in relief but then remembered that she couldn't participate in the activity. She still didn't have control over her Quirk and it could cost problems for her and her teammate. She made a mental note to mention this to All Might, who hopefully would allow her to withdraw from it.

"That it! Now young'ins! Meet me on Ground Beta in your costumes for a battle trial test!"

***

(Y/n) stood away from the other students, her back leaning against the wall as she watched the first two pairs battle it out in one of the buildings. With backup from Recovery Girl, she had been excused from the fight by All Might and resorted to dwell in her misery away from the others.

From her spot, she kept sneaking glances at Shoto's back, her heart breaking a little with every look. What bothered her wasn't the fact that he was there, but the fact that he completely ignored her existence. It was like she wasn't even there.

She recalled a fleeting moment in class when she made eye contact with him. Her heart skipped a beat when his heterochromatic eyes met her own (e/c) ones, a spark of hope in her heart that he'd acknowledge her. However, this was all flushed down the drain when he merely looked away, his aloof expression unchanged.

(Y/n) couldn't begin to explain how hurt she felt when he did that. He made her feel invisible, treating her like he did the others when he joined U.A. He didn't even look like he was hurting or anything. He looked perfectly normal, unconcerned, unhurt.

And that made her angry.

Angry that she was the only one suffering as he continues on with his life.

It was unfair.

Her angry state had reflected onto the others, most keeping away from her as they sensed her dark aura. Her classmates had noticed how black clouds seemed to constantly loom over her head the whole day and each one had their own assumptions. They all had eyes. They all noticed that she and Shoto weren't talking. They didn't need two brains to know they weren't okay.

As the girl sent Shouto another look, from the corner of her eye, she noticed Yaoyorozu turn to look at her. (Y/n) met her eyes and the dark-haired girl smiled. (Y/n) returned the smile, though it wasn't as sincere.

Yaoyorozu made her way to the girl and leaned on the wall beside her.

"Hi, are you okay?"

(Y/n) nodded, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You don't look fine," Momo placed her hand on the girl's shoulder in concern. "Is it because you and Todoroki are probably not on good terms?"

The girl thinned her lips into a straight line and looked back at the dual-haired male. "You noticed, huh?"

"Everyone did," she revealed, "It's just that no one approached you yet...Apart from Bakugou who seems to know."

The female bit the inside of her cheek as her eyes roamed over the backs of her classmates. It wouldn't be long until they all found out about the breakup but despite that fact, (Y/n) wanted to keep it a secret for an even longer time. It was still fresh in her mind and to her, people knowing about it would serve as a constant reminder of it.

"We're just....not talking right now," the girl lied, sending Yaoyorozu another fake smile. "But we'll be okay soon."

Yaoyorozu looked at her in deep thought before nodding. Over the past few weeks, their relationship wasn't as it used to be before. They didn't spend time together as they used to, only talking once in a while. So it wasn't a surprise if (Y/n) withheld some pieces of information from her. Yaoyorozu let it slide, seeing that whatever she was going through truly did bother her.

"If you say so then," the dark-haired girl began, reciprocating the smile. "I hope you guys do."

A little part of the girl died when she said that. She knew it wasn't true. They would never get back together. But that didn't stop her from wishing.

"Me too, Momo," she mumbled, her dispirited eyes trailing back to Shouto. "Me too."

***

(Y/n) sat on the steps of the stairs, a sigh escaping her lips as she leaned her head on the wall.

Everyone else had gone for lunch and she took the opportunity to escape the looming presences of other students to think on her own.

She had lost her appetite ages ago and even if she did have one, she wouldn't eat in the cafeteria. It's not like she could sit with Shouto anymore.

So she chose to rather sit by herself away from everyone.

Her eyes were staring at the ground sightlessly as she drowned in her thoughts, mindlessly playing with her fingers along with it. A pair of shoes invaded her line of vision, stopping directly in front of her.

She trailed her gaze slowly up to meet Katsuki's scowling face.

"Why the fuck are you out here?! Are you planning to starve yourself now?" he snapped, earning a weary sigh from the girl.

"I don't have an appetite," she muttered while pushing back the stray strands of hair that had fallen on her face.

"Tch. Appetite my ass," he growled before stepping forward and grabbing her wrist. "Get the fuck up. You're going to eat."

(Y/n) tried to pull her hand out of his hold, her struggle making the boy angrier.

"Katsuki, stop. I'm not hungry!"

"I said you’re going to eat!!" Katsuki yelled, successfully pulling her up to her feet and bringing her closer to his face, "Are you really going to starve yourself because of that icyhot chucklefuck, huh?!!"

(Y/n) opened her mouth to answer but closed it when she realized he was right. But that still didn't make her hungry.

"I know but I'm serious. I don't feel like eating!" she reasoned with him as she tried to unwrap his fingers from her wrist.

He snapped, his fingers tightening around her wrist even more. “I could care less!”

“It’s ‘I couldn’t care less’…” she rolled her eyes.

“Did I fucking stutter?”

(Y/n) gave him an exasperated look before hitting his hand. “Leave me alone, Katsuki!”

Katsuki growled at the action and grabbed her free hand, making her gasp. She looked at him with wide eyes, surprised by his unusual hostility.

"Can't you fucking see what you're doing to yourself?!" he growled lowly, his grip on her wrists tightening with every word. "You're hurting your fucking self when that fucker is happily enjoying his life. So you better stop this. I fucking get it. You're fucking hurt but how the fuck do you expect yourself to move on when all you ever do is just sulk and feel sorry for your fucking self?!"

(Y/n) winced at the painful grip he had on her wrists, his anger causing his palms to grow hot as smoke seeped from the point of contact.

"K-Katsuki, you're hurting me..."

"Yeah, but not more than you're hurting yourself!"

(Y/n) sniffled, tears prickling her eyes as she looked into Katsuki's glaring ones. He was right again. She was hurting herself. But he didn't understand the pain she was going through. It was hard just to up and move on as fast.

"It's not that easy..." she said, her voice cracking at the end.

"Don't you think I know?!" the ash-blond asked, baring her teeth in anger. "Come on, dumbass. You're fucking strong. Act like it! Walking around looking like your fucking dog died. Do you know how fucking pathetic you look?!"

His harsh words shot right through her heart. It was painful to hear the truth, especially from someone with no mouth filter.

The girl nodded, tightly closing her eyes for a moment as the tears cascaded down her cheeks. She opened them and looked at the ceiling, willing herself to stop crying.

She could see what he meant by she looked pathetic. Her crying was getting worse and she had to stop, no matter the pain.

Katsuki still had his hold on her wrists but had stopped burning her as he waited for her to stop crying.

"Are you done?" he asked, his voice rough and harsh as he watched the girl try to stop her tears.

(Y/n) blinked a couple of times, clearing her blurry vision and nodding.

"Good. Now you're gonna stay like that for the rest of the day, you got that?!" the ash-blond ordered, letting go of her hands so that she could wipe her wet cheeks.

(Y/n) nodded again and inhaled deeply to get herself together.

"After school, I'm taking you out. Got that?! You need to stop thinking about that guy and move the fuck on. You can't stay like this forever."

"Okay," the girl shrugged, her voice raspy and coarse. "I'll try."

"Tch. Don't say you'll try, you idiot. You're gonna fucking do it," Katsuki clicked his tongue in irritation, making the girl smile a bit.

"Okay. I'll do it."

Katsuki scoffed, "Yeah and put that in your fucking brain. Or else I'll beat it into you the next time."

(Y/n) sighed and nodded once more. Apart from Katsuki's odd form of a 'pep talk' managing to make her feel somewhat better, it also made her determined to work towards building herself up again. She was already getting tired of being miserable, something she didn't like. Moving on would take time but she was willing to wait.

"Thanks, Katsuki...I needed that."

"Don't mention it, dumbass," Katsuki said and grabbed her arm. "C'mon, let's get to class."

***