"What the fuck did you just say?" Bakugo's eyebrows furrowed as he glared at you.

Resting your chin on your palm, you glanced at his desk. You shrugged your shoulders, having grown used to the ash-blond boy's short temper. "I said that you're also a try-hard. And that it's good you're back."

"Tch." Bakugo rolled his eyes at you. Yet, you found yourself feeling thankful that your classmates had helped rescue him, though Todoroki had not allowed you to join the rescue at Kamino Ward.

Aizawa arranged his teaching notes in front of him before he addressed the whole class, "As you are all aware, All Might has retired from being a hero. However, he will still be teaching you."

The whole class erupted with cheers of relief, and you looked back to check on Todoroki. Your heartening smile was enough to brighten his day.

"You will start developing your ultimate moves today. This is in preparation for the Provisional Hero Licensing Exam."

A few more students cheered, until Aizawa his crossed arms, impatiently waiting for them to settle down. "This is no laughing matter. It will be painful, but it will help you become better heroes."

Excited for today's training session, you rubbed your wrist and rolled your hand a couple of times to deal with its stiffness. You felt like you had plateaued since the Training Camp, and couldn't wait to get stronger.

As the rest of the class rushed out, Aizawa narrowed his eyes at hearing some more cheering. "Ungrateful brats," Aizawa muttered under his breath.

---

You bent your knees slightly and put your arms in front of you, preparing to dodge Hagakure. While the invisible girl's goal was to touch you, yours was to avoid her by feeling her presence. After much training, you had improved enough so that you could do this without closing your eyes, but only for a few minutes at a time.

The school gym's floor squeaked under your feet, as you lept to your right. That fuzzy sensation became stronger again, but this time from below, so you jumped up. Had Hagakure not tripped as she approached you, she would have probably been able to touch your feet as you landed.

As the girl let out an exasperated sigh, she rubbed her scratched knee. "You're getting too fast for me to catch you, (y/n)!"

You shut your eyes, a throbbing headache ringing through your head as you rubbed the sides of your brows. "But you're doing well, Hagakure. I must admit that your last attempt was close."

Aizawa strolled up to the both of you, dragging his feet along as he placed his hands in his pockets. "Do you both think that's good enough for an ultimate move?" His tone was dry, letting you know that your performance was underwhelming at best.

Hagakure stood up from the floor. "Maybe?"

"No, it isn't," you admitted. You surveyed the rest of your class, from Midoriya hopelessly punching the mountain of dirt, to Todoroki's mighty Wall of Flames. "Mr. Aizawa?"

He nodded, expecting a new idea from you.

"Last time, at the training camp..." You looked down at your bandaged wrist. "Could I use something to bring opponents closer to me like you do? Because my quirk is short-range, I really struggled at that time."

Aizawa adjusted the capturing weapon he wore as a scarf, tucking it in further into his dark, long-sleeved shirt. "You would need to ensure you make it your own. That is the only way an ultimate move can stand out in the world of heroes."

---

Later that day, after the bell rang, your classmates rushed out of the classroom. You slowly packed your bag and pushed your chair under the table. Even though you sensed Todoroki's presence nearing you, you still let out a gasp when he wrapped his arms around your waist from behind you. "Is Bakugo causing you trouble again?"

Though unexpected, you made sure to welcome his hug. Not only would this reassure him, but it would also encourage him to open up more to you. You dropped your bag on your desk, now holding on to Todoroki's arms. "Not really. It's just him being a him, as usual."

Todoroki scoffed, taking a step back to lean against the nearest desk. He ran his fingers over the marking etched on the wood that read 'King Explosion Murder.'

"And how was your day?"

"Good, thanks," he said. "Midoriya mentioned you're heading to the Support Department with him tomorrow. Does that have anything to do with our plans for this weekend?"

You shook your head. "It's for my ultimate move."

"I see." He nodded his head ever so slightly. "Would you like me to come with you?"

A small smile broke on your lips as you glanced up to him. "Yeah."

Todoroki tilted his head to the side, thinking about how adorable you were, even when you were not trying. He wasn't a fan of public displays of affection. Still, he enjoyed them with all his heart when it was just the two of you. "You needed a hug, didn't you?"

You gave him a sheepish nod as you picked up your bag and threw it over your shoulder. Extending your arm in front of you, you stepped towards him.

Todoroki stared down at your hand smaller than his, and then at your bandaged one you held close to your body. "I thought you said you liked me being more forward, (y/n)."

You let out a laugh. "I do," you said.

I should probably take my own advice, too. You grabbed hold of Todoroki's hand, intertwining your fingers with his.

He shook his head at himself as he realised that he had yet again missed a cue.

---

For some reason, studying the room which was so cluttered with machines of all sizes comforted you. You almost lost track of time as you stood there, with Todoroki and Midoriya at either side of you. Todoroki knitted his eyebrows in confusion. Nevertheless, Midoriya explained a bit more about the Support Course. Those students were more than happy to aid students from the Hero Course. . . Most of the time.

The girl with shoulder-length salmon pink dreadlocks gave you a broad smile. "I've been waiting for this one! Let me show you my super cute babies!"

"Right," you said. "Are those the hover soles you used at the Sports Festival?"

Midoriya flinched, but only because Mei Hatsume grew closer to the three of you.

Mei leaned closer to you, her yellow eyes shining with astute thrill. "You can't say you don't know anything about this stuff when you clearly do, (y/n)! Cut the humbleness and show me!"

"Mei, I really appreciate the compliment, but I do need your help. Do you reckon you could make a capturing weapon for me?"

The girl put her arms behind her head, scanning you up and down. "So you're telling me The Life Hero: Vita is gonna have like a... I know! I can make it so you're like a spider and then you can suck the life out of your prey!"

Todoroki thought you had a great idea, but the way Mei phrased it sounded rather villainous. He also noticed how your back stiffened.

However, you brushed that comment off. "Yeah, sort of? Can you do it, please?"

"Of course, I can and I will!" Mei gave you a thumbs up. "So Midoriya needs something for his legs, and you, a capturing weapon... the only one left is him!" she pointed at Todoroki, but soon got distracted by a sudden crash at the back of the room.

Todoroki rubbed his temples. "I don't need anything. We'll be going now."

You jumped a little when Todoroki took hold of your hand but still waved them goodbye. "Thank you for all the help, Mei! Good luck, Deku!"

Midoriya's expression read 'help me', but you couldn't see it as you trailed behind Todoroki. The dark-green haired boy shuddered as the door shut behind you.

---

That week went in a blur as you rehearsed for Saturday. Now, walking under the cloudy sky next to Todoroki, you focused on your surroundings. You hadn't spotted your uncle, and you were only a few blocks away from the train station.

"By the way, (y/n), what's your uncle's quirk?" Todoroki asked, giving you a sideways glance.

"Oh, it's called Metakinesis. He can manipulate living beings if he stares at them for a given amount of time."

Todoroki took a sharp breath in, as the muscles in his arms tightened. "How long?"

You gave a quick glance over your shoulder. Out of the blue, Daiki appeared a few blocks away from you after having turned around the corner. The man with the slicked-back hair walked by his side, his dark suit drawing some attention from passersby. Crap. You gulped. "Only a few people know it's about thirty seconds."

Todoroki's expression darkened. "That's him, isn't he?"

By your side, you eyed a small alley. You grabbed Todoroki's hand and dashed, pulling him to the impromptu hiding place. Both of you kneeled behind a bin, which oozed a wretched scent of rotting food. Your hands trembled as you supported your back against the brick wall.

Both of you stayed quiet, awfully quiet as you heard footsteps to your right. They grew closer and closer, allowing you to listen to a tiny snippet of their conversation.

The man with the slicked-back hair stopped walking as he examined the narrow alleyway. "Wasn't there a couple walking ahead of us?"

Daiki let out a few vicious coughs. "Didn't notice." He then lit another cigarette, the most likely reason why he had missed you and Todoroki.

"I wonder..." The man gave a few steps into the alleyway.

Panic-stricken, you ushered Todoroki closer to you. His warm breath fanned over your face as he placed his hands against the brick wall to support himself. Neither of you could use your quirks on the two men. For one, you would be severely punished as you didn't have a Provisional License yet, and for another, you didn't know how both of you would measure up to them.

With another step closer, you held your breath, making yourself as small as possible, soiling your trousers with dirt. Another step. Todoroki focused his gaze on you as he tried to make a plan to get out of this. You should only attack if worst comes to worst.

The voice was low, and coarse, but you covered your mouth in shock when you recognised it was your uncle's. "No, I didn't manage to steal it from her."

The man in the suit turned around, feeling for his gun through his clothes. "The boss isn't going to be happy about that at all. At all."

"I know." Those were the last words you heard, as the footsteps began to fade.

So, uncle Daiki wanted to steal something... from me?

Both of you stayed as still as you could, almost stuck to each other as you waited. "They're gone now, Sho," you said, not being able to feel their presence any longer. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess... It's all so twisted."

He stood up with care, offering his hand to help you up. "None of that matters to me. I just want you to be safe."

With Todoroki's help, you propped yourself up from the ground. You stretched your back which ached from having been in such an awkward, close-up position for those chilling few minutes. "Thank you. That's all I want, too."

"I apologise, but I don't think we should follow them any further today." Todoroki patted your head, the adrenalin still running through his veins. He bit his tongue to stop himself from telling you something until he let out a sigh. He didn't particularly care about conventions.

You looked up to him, almost ready to protest as you caught up your breath. But you decided that that wouldn't be fair on him while he averted his gaze, perhaps, battling with himself whether this was the right moment - one that didn't seem to exist in both of your hectic lives.

Drawing his hand away from your head, Todoroki hunched his shoulders. "(y/n), if everything we've both gone through since we met was the price we had to pay to meet each other, well, then it was worth it." He held on to your arms as he rested his forehead against yours. "I know it's taken me a long time to understand. No matter how much pain there is, you're still worth it."

An overwhelming feeling rushed over you in that moment. Though you were usually the most talkative out of the two of you, you were bursting to utter such simple words. You didn't hesitate this time. "I love you, Shoto Todoroki."

You stayed there, holding on to each other as if you were a lifeline. The thought that both of you were in an alleyway seemed to have vanished from both of your minds. Nothing else mattered. You were safe right now, and you had one another.