Bakugo had no doubt in his mind that Kirishima would be full of shit on Monday morning and he was right. The blonde had barely been able to sit down at his desk chair before that smug red-headed dick was at his door.

"From what I hear, you've had a hell of a weekend," Kirishima grinned knowingly.

"Shut the fuck up before I murder you," Bakugo growled the words out and aggressively tried to turn on his computer.

Kirishima was unfazed as he casually meandered into Bakugo's office, "I'm curious about something… What side of the bed does Uraraka sleep on?" He nonchalantly sat down in the only other chair and kicked his feet up on the desk.

The blonde gripped his computer mouse so tightly that it threatened to break, "I swear, I'm not fucking around about killing you."

"Chill the hell out, dude." Kirishima didn't flinch as Bakugo roughly shoved his feet from their perch on the desk. "I'm just looking to get your side of the story."

"So now you're interested?" Bakugo scowled harshly at the red-head. "You didn't seem to give a shit at the party."

"Well," Kirishima weighed the words in his mind before replying, "You were being kind of an ass that night so you can't deny that you had it coming."

Bakugo scoffed snidely at his friend and turned his glare back to his computer screen, "It doesn't fucking matter anyway. That damn nerd is back."

"I heard," Kirishima's gaze dropped onto the predictable knick-knacks on Bakugo's desk. "What are you going to do about that?"

Bakugo seemed to snap at that question. He gruffly shoved himself away from his desk and his chair whined in response, "What the fuck am I supposed to do about that shit? I fucking made things clear for Uraraka but she didn't seem interested."

"I don't know about that," Kirishima fished his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it. "Check out what Mina texted me this morning." He tossed the phone over to the blonde and smiled greedily.

Bakugo caught the phone with a single hand and glared at the screen. Mina had sent screenshots of a conversation to the red-head earlier in the morning. "The fuck is this shit?"

"Damn it, Bakugo." Kirishima rubbed his forehead with closed eyes, "Just read them."

Bakugo frowned but scrolled back to the first screenshot. He scanned through the conversation between acid-freak and Uraraka.

Uraraka: Mina, I really need your help.

Mina: Talk to me.

Uraraka: I'm freaking out! Deku and I tried to do the "you know" last night, but I made him stop. This is so embarrassing! What do I even say to him?!

Mine: Timeout, girl. You made him stop? Why? What happened?

Uraraka: Well we talked things through last night (sorta) and I just thought it would help. But ever since you told me that thing on Saturday, it's all I can think about! It super doesn't help that Bakugo showed up last night and made everything waaay worse!

The blonde bristled at that text but Kirishima predicted it and urged him forward, "Just keep reading, man."

Mina: omg gurl WHAT? What did he want?!

Uraraka: He said it was about work (and it was) but he was super broody and stuff. Honestly, I thought he was going to kiss me. I'm super freaked out!

Mina: NO WAY. I do not believe you. Is that why you and Deku didn't do the deed?

Uraraka: I think so. Yes.

At this point, Bakugo knew he shouldn't keep reading. This was a complete invasion of Uraraka's privacy and although he may be a jerk sometimes, he wasn't a nosy one. "I don't want to see this fucking shit, Kirishima." He tossed the phone back.

"Did you read all of it?" Kirishima clumsily caught the phone and looked down. "You didn't even get halfway!"

"I don't want to," Bakugo bit back rudely. "It's none of my damn business."

Kirishima seemed to accept Bakugo's answer but wasn't about to let it go, "Look man, I can respect that but she's clearly-"

"Fucking quit it, Kirishima." Bakugo interrupted the redhead. "You're the one that said you were going to butt out of this, so fucking do it."

"Fine." Kirishima stuck his chin up in the air as he shot out of his chair. "I guess you're just going to have to find a new patrol partner for today."

"That's the best news I've gotten in a week," Bakugo didn't even bother to meet Kirishima's gaze. "I'm already sick of seeing your ugly as hell face."

Kirishima smirked as he turned to leave, "Oh, I probably should mention that Uraraka is the only other person free for patrol today. Good luck!" The red-head dashed out the door with a cackle.

Bakugo grimaced at the news. Of fucking course Kirishima had been playing a different game all along. That fucker was getting too wise for his own good and Bakugo snatched a sticky note to write himself a reminder to kill that son of a bitch.

Just as he stuck the note to the bottom of his computer screen, Edgeshot's personal assistant poked her head through the open door, "Erm… Ground Zero?"

Bakugo snapped his furious gaze in her direction, "The fuck do you want, trouty lips?"

She flinched at the remarkably cruel nickname, "Edgeshot said you wanted to see him and his meeting just ended. He's in his office now."

Bakugo blinked for a moment before standing up, "It's about damn time. You'd think that the word 'urgent' would carry some more weight around here."

She didn't give a reply before she scurried off, her heart wrenching over the name he used for her. It was just her luck that the one guy she was sorta crushing on in the office would identify her by her slightly above average sized lips.

Bakugo followed after her without the hurried component. He didn't run anywhere unless it was life or death. He preferred to slouch his way across the building toward Edgeshot's office. Clearly, Edgeshot wasn't in any kind of hurry either so why not?

Once he finally stepped through the tall oak doors, his eyes had to adjust to the dark. Of course it was pitch black in here. Bakugo wasn't surprised in the least. Edgeshot pulled this stunt often enough for the blonde to expect it. He did it with everyone.

Bakugo shut the door behind him and allowed his eyes finish adjusting before stepping further into the carpeted room as quietly as he could. He strained his ears for the slightest sound to give away his boss's location. He wouldn't get duped this time, for sure.

Shiiing!

Bakugo reflexively jerked his torso and head back a few inches in time to see the very slight glimmer of silver whiz past him.

Shing! Shing!

Bakugo dropped to the floor before the next two could hit him and he turned his attention to his left before leaping that way, sparks igniting in his hands. If his calculations were correct, then Edgeshot should be right…

Here.

Bakugo began to work up a small scale explosion, but the light in his palms gave away nothing but empty space. Damn it, he was wrong again!

The lights flicked on before Bakugo had a chance to continue his attack and his eyes had to blink a few times to adjust to the light.

"You almost had me that time," Edgeshot's even tone came from the blonde's left. "You've improved exponentially."

Bakugo turned his head sharply, "Let's fucking go again. This time, I'll kick your ass."

Edgeshot sighed monotonously before wandering over to the lone desk in the center of the room, "You're still the same thick headed kid that I hired on three years ago, Bakugo. Brute force is not always the answer. Stealth is a tool that even you could find useful."

"That's more of your thing," Bakugo grouched about his defeat but he was still kicking himself in his mind. "I tend to do things with a bang."

Edgeshot pulled a notebook from a drawer and scribbled a few notes down, "You need to be lighter on your feet next time." He slammed the book shut and shoved it back into the drawer. "Now, what is it you need?"

Bakugo frowned, "I got a tip from one of my contacts."

Edgeshot didn't give any response but he was clearly listening.

"The leader of the Mamushi group is in Tokyo." Bakugo said the words purposefully, "The head of the snake is here."

The third rank hero had a miniscule reaction this time, "You have my attention."

Uraraka rested her forehead on her desk and groaned about the stack of paperwork she'd left for herself on Friday. Why hadn't she planned better and finished it all on Friday? At least she had the entire day to catch up with her patrol partner absent from work.

She begrudgingly snatched a pen out of her pencil cup and began working through the pile of boring documents. She worked through a good amount requiring signatures before she moved on to the case reports she had before her. With so little for the heroes in Tokyo to do recently, the agencies dotting the country had been sending them cases to review and provide feedback.

Uraraka couldn't help but chuckle as she opened a case file from her old agency. On the top of the file folder was a sticky note with Bombshell's handwriting.

"Uravity! We miss you and hope you're kicking butt in the big city! We could definitely use your eyes on this case though…"

She flipped through some photographs and statements with a faint smile on her lips. She missed the blonde hero and their daily banter. Bombshell really was a privilege to work with and perhaps Uraraka could pay her a visit sometime soon.

She was so enveloped in the case notes that she didn't even notice that anyone else had come through the open door and into her office. She jumped a little in her chair when the sound of more paperwork was dropped on her pile.

"Wha-" She breathed at the now doubled stack. "What's this for?"

Bakugo simply stared down at her with his usual frown, "If you're just going to sit around on your ass all day, then you can handle some extra work."

"I don't think that's how this is supposed to work," She pulled up a few of the pages he'd dropped on the desk and frowned, "Are these yours?"

The blonde's expression didn't change, "Yeah, so either get to work or find a patrol partner."

"My partner is not here today," She gave him an unimpressed look, "So take those back and go. Can't you see I have enough to do on my own?"

"You're in luck, roundface," Bakugo grouched back. "I don't have a patrol partner either."

She paused to meet his annoyed gaze, "No." She replied with a short tone.

"I don't take no as an answer," Bakugo spat back. "Don't fucking lie, roundface. You're dying to get out of the office too."

Uraraka folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, "Well, it depends. Did you talk to Edgeshot?"

"Of course I fucking did," Bakugo rolled his eyes.

Uraraka paused and waited for him to continue, "And?"

"And what?" Bakugo's tone was laced with irritation.

"What's the plan?" Uraraka ran a hand down her face.

The blonde watched her grow frustrated with his unwillingness to elaborate further, "If you want more information, you'll have to be outside in ten fucking minutes."

She rolled her eyes for the second time. He really must be antsy to get out of the office if he was bribing her with information. She needed a big break in Tokyo so she pushed her pride aside for the sake of not being excluded from the mission. "Whatever."

Bakugo didn't bother to change his expression as he marched out of her office and down the hall. As soon as he entered his own office, he smirked. That bastard Kirishima still had his back.

Uraraka huffed a sigh as the blonde left before she shoved her paperwork aside and began prepping for patrol. She stood up to sling her utility belt around her waist and grabbed her helmet from the desk.

She hadn't patrolled with Bakugo in a while so she had to take a minute to mentally prepare herself for it. Work Bakugo was very different from outside work Bakugo. His ego was immeasurable in the workplace and he took the work so seriously that it was scary.

Ten minutes flew by and she finally pushed the door open to exit the building. The sun was warm but not hot on her. Fall was coming in fast this year and while this cooler weather was great, she wasn't thrilled for the coming chill of winter. She sighed silently as she blinked toward her impromptu patrol partner.

"Took you long enough," Bakugo growled as he adjusted his grenadiers on his arms.

She was slightly taken aback, "I'm right on time."

He scowled back at her and opened his mouth to berate her about the importance of being early. However, she was quick to raise her hand and shake her head.

"I don't even want to hear it." She dropped her hand and started walking, "But you can start telling me about this plan."

Bakugo frowned and followed after her, "Tch, I knew it was a fucking piss poor idea to involve you."

"Well, I'm involved," Uraraka shot back with a grin. "So start talking, Bakugo. The Mamushi group isn't going to wait forever."

He was slightly put off by her bossy tone but wrote it off as credit to her mood, "It's fucking simple. We wait until we get the green light and then we strike."

She sighed at him, "What did Edgeshot have to say about it?"

"The fucking guy doesn't say much about anything," Bakugo recalled his somewhat one-sided conversation with the ninja hero. "But we're keeping this under wraps until something happens. If we can secure the Mamushi leader,

then it'd be unwise to risk tipping them off that we're coming."

She followed Bakugo's gaze to the street they were walking down, "Have you heard anything else from your informant?"

"No," Bakugo ground out through his teeth.

Uraraka let silence hang between them for a minute, "Do you trust him?"

It was a question that Bakugo had expected Edgeshot to ask, not the brunette beside him. His eyebrows furrowed and he hardened his eyes, "I guess we'll have to find out when this all goes down. I'll kill that pipsqueak if this all goes to shit."

She couldn't help the nervous smile on her lips, "Aside from Kirishima and Edgeshot, does anybody else know?"

"Just us," Bakugo ground out the words, "Are you done asking stupid fucking questions?"

Her nervous eyes switched to slight annoyance, "I don't want to be in the dark about all this, Bakugo."

His eyes finally met hers and he narrowed his gaze, "You're not the only one in the dark, roundface."

She sucked in a breath, knowing that their encounter from last night was weighing over them. This patrol just went from tolerable to awkward, "About last night…"

He felt his heart leap to his throat at her change of topic, "There's nothing to fucking talk about."

"There is a lot to talk about," She breathed tiredly. "You can't just show up at my place and…" She waved her arms around awkwardly.

"What?" He shot back. "It was work related, dumbass."

"Not all of it!" She protested and turned her head away to blush, "I need you to explain yourself, Bakugo."

The blonde was irked by her demand and he clenched his fists behind the cover of his grenadiers. "I don't explain myself to anybody."

She grunted in frustration and slowed her walking speed, "This is not a stupid game, Bakugo. I can't have you jerking my feelings around like this."

He felt his chest tighten at her tone but he didn't allow his glare to waiver at all, "We're at work, Uraraka."

"We're on a patrol," She corrected and finally came to stop. "I think it's a perfectly reasonable thing to say that we're probably not going to see any villains so now is as good a time as any to talk."

He halted a few feet in front of her and turned his glare her way, "There's nothing to talk about. I've made myself clear."

"No," She retorted, "Nothing is clear. You're mister angry-pants one minute and a decent human being the next. You say I'm weak but then insist that I'm strong. Well, which is it, Bakugo?"

He stared at her with a blank gaze. What did she want him to say?

"Do you…" She struggled to get the words out of her mouth. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

He knitted his brows at her and inhaled sharply, "It doesn't fucking matter."

"It does matter!" She breathed desperately. "I need to know. I'm doubting myself and I want some clear answers from you."

Bakugo turned his back and started walking again, "Pull yourself together, Uraraka. You know where I stand on this."

An exasperated breath left her mouth before she jogged back to his side and grabbed his arm, "Then say it."

His scorching eyes turned on her but he didn't break from her grasp. His mind and heart told him to do two different things. Focus on the job and ignore her or ignore the job and focus on her. Inside his mind and heart was a mighty clash between two passionate sides and neither gave an inch.

"I…" Bakugo barely breathed the word as he caught her intense and demanding brown eyes. He was as stiff as a board and for once in his life, he had no witty reply to save him.

Uraraka held his gaze for what felt like a long time before she sighed and released his arm. "I guess neither of us know what we want." She dropped her gaze as she said it and began walking again. It wasn't until she had turned her back to Bakugo that she noticed the citizens around them had been watching intently. They all averted her accusatory gaze and seemed to fumble for something to do.

Bakugo didn't notice them whatsoever, but he never did. Instead, he watched after her with a sinking feeling. His arm she had held so firm just a moment prior now hung limp by his side. His expression was as stoic as ever to anyone else, but he could feel that his jaw had dropped slightly as she showed him her back. What the fuck had just happened? Why did he freeze?

"Hurry up, Ground Zero." Uraraka's voice seemed to float over to him on wings, "Let's get this patrol over with."

Bakugo blinked and quietly cleared his throat. He somehow managed to start putting one foot in front of the other again and he began glancing at his surroundings to distract himself. Just about anything else would be better than looking at Uraraka right now.

Well, except for one sight.

He didn't stop walking after the brunette, even when his red eyes locked with green ones. In fact, he didn't even speak a word. He simply held the gaze with his typical scowl. But Deku would know that this wasn't just a typical scowl. This was a challenging scowl.

Midoriya didn't flinch or falter at it either. He simply stared from where he stood, leaning on the corner of a building across the street. A slow wind seemed to blow between them and all other noise was blocked out. Bakugo felt a spark of the fire he relished ignite in his chest.

Perhaps that little shit stick really is threatened by him.

Almost as soon as their eyes met across the street, Deku's looked toward Uraraka. Bakugo glanced the same way to see her tossing a look back at him with an unamused expression. He could detect a hint of sadness in her eyes, but his mind was too distracted to work that out. Bakugo tilted his head back toward Deku's direction but the shit stain was nowhere to be seen.

The blonde inwardly scoffed and he clenched his hands inside his grenadiers once more. He scanned the area but never found the green-haired schmuck again. Had Deku been following her? Part of him wasn't particularly surprised by the implication. It was clear that that fucking coward felt like his relationship with Uraraka was being threatened. Bakugo felt a swell of satisfaction at that. It seemed to help clear up some of the fog that had been in his mind toward the bubbly brunette in front of him.

"Bakugo!" Uraraka voice broke him from his thoughts, "What are you doing?" Her voice sounded strained, like she was trying to hold something back.

The blonde blinked and settled his gaze to see that she was far ahead of him now. He suddenly became conscious of how hard he'd been clenching his fists and jaw and he forced himself to release them. "I'm doing my fucking job, roundface," He jerked his head toward the street, "I'm keeping an eye on things."

"I thought we covered this," Uraraka huffed with indignation, "I think it's safe to say that we won't run into any villains out here." She had stopped walking and crossed her arms.

Bakugo narrowed his eyes at her, "You've got a smart mouth today, roundface."

"No," She held his glare, "I'm just running out of patience."

Bakugo grunted with indignation before he barged past her, leading the way on the rest of their route. He knew why she was suddenly in a foul mood but he wasn't going to cut her slack for the sake of heartache. They had bigger fish to fry and he needs her to bring her A game. "If you're in such a goddamn hurry, then we'll fucking hurry." He quickened his pace to the point that Uraraka had to jog to keep up.

He heard her protest a few times but he didn't slow down. He was suddenly anxious to get back to the agency and be rid of the awkward tension that seemed to multiply between them whenever they had a conversation. He couldn't rid his brain of the look on her face when she had asked him to be honest with her and there was a phantom hand on his arm where she had held him. It unsettled him that she would call him out like that but he tried to cram the confusing feelings down and focus on the patrol.

"Bakugo," Uraraka pleaded as she hurried to keep up with him without breaking into a run, "I didn't mean for you to take this so literally. You don't have to speed back to the agency, you know?"

He didn't reply, opting to move faster instead. He grabbed his phone from his pocket and glanced at it. There was no update from his informant and he was getting annoyed. A seed of doubt planted itself in his chest about this informant. Could he this villain be trusted? He scoffed internally at that question and felt an idea sprout in his mind. Perhaps he could test the informant's loyalty.

He led them around a corner and it was only another minute before a familiar location caught his eye. He passed the entrance to the alleyway behind the noodle shop and came to a stop outside the front door. A few scenarios ran through his head. What if he went inside to check things out himself? Perhaps that would blow the entire operation but his curiosity and impatience were already peaking and this felt like as good an idea as any.

"Ooo," Uraraka smiled warmly at the storefront. "Are you hungry or something?" She looked at the menu that had been taped to the door. "I could go for a bowl of udon. I didn't get a chance to eat lunch," She glanced back at Bakugo, "But that was thanks to someone that was itching to get out on patrol."

Bakugo ignored her jab at him because his mind had been made up. He glanced at the menu on the door for a moment before he yanked on the door and moved to go inside.

"Wait!" Uraraka scrunched her eyebrows and followed after him, "I was only kidding!"

Bakugo didn't look back at her as he entered the ramshackle noodle shop. He immediately scanned the room. There were some tables with plastic chairs scattered around and a counter along the back wall. Two people were standing behind the counter and they looked up with wary eyes when the heros walked in.

For a moment, nobody said anything and Bakugo stood in the doorway. His red eyes zeroed in on each of the men inside, watching for them to make a move. They seemed tense and uncomfortable under his gaze. They glanced at each other, an unspoken understanding passed between them.

"Excuse me," Uraraka's voice shattered the silent standoff between the hero and villains. "Bakugo, could you please move?"

The blonde frowned deeply before moving aside and letting the brunette pass. She ducked inside and looked around, completely unaware of the situation they were in. "Why would you stop in the middle of the doorway like that?"

Bakugo's serious expression didn't waiver and he never took his eyes off the two other men inside. He didn't reply to her question but slowly moved toward the back of the shop, his hands at the ready.

There was a clatter in the backroom of the building before the door behind the counter popped open and a third man entered the room. The third man was dusting his hands off as the door swung shut behind him but he froze in place the moment his eyes landed on the heroes.

"Er…" The newcomer cleared his throat, "Ground Zero… Whadda we owe tha pleasure?"

The blonde hero walked all the way up to the counter and glanced between the three men. He examined all of them, taking mental notes of all their features in an effort to discover some information about their quirks. He recognized the third man immediately as his informant. "It's rather empty in here for a Monday afternoon," He commented dryly and looked at all the empty tables.

The first of the three men was leaning his hip on the counter as he counted out a small stack of money. He tucked the money into the pocket of his jeans before he stood upright, "We've had a bit of a dry spell lately." The man dropped his eyelids suspiciously and tilted his head.

Bakugo held his inquisitive scowl and looked at the area behind the counter, "It doesn't look like you've cooked much either."

"As I said," The first man came up to his side of the counter to stand directly in front of the blonde hero, "We've had a bit of a dry spell. No point in making noodles that we won't sell."

"And yet there are three of you here," Bakugo narrowed his eyes.

The informant fidgeted uncomfortably and he glanced between the other men in the room, "Well, I's just leavin'."

Bakugo finally turned his intense gaze on the small man that he'd been paying for information but he didn't get a chance to say anything before he was cut off.

"Do you have any fresh udon?" Uraraka asked suddenly and all four men turned to look at her. She was still standing behind her colleague with a fingertip tapping her chin. She had been reading the menu quietly the entire time.

There was an uncomfortable silence before the second man cleared his throat to answer, "No, only ramen today."

"Hmm," Uraraka hummed thoughtfully, "I guess I could eat some ramen. Do you have any recommendations? I haven't eaten here before."

All the men seemed baffled by her innocent question and they glanced anxiously at each other. The blonde hero's stern glare was on them, watching as they shuffled to work. The first man that had been counting money shrugged, "All we got is run of the mill ramen bowls today. Not much of a choice in that."

Uraraka smiled softly, "Well, I'm hungry enough to eat anything, so I'll take one of those." She turned to her hot-heated counterpart, "Do you want the same thing? I'll buy."

Bakugo had been staring down his informant throughout her exchange with the others. His red eyes had been watching how unnerved the man became at the surprise visit. The nervous look on the informant's face as he glanced between the other two villains he worked with gave away his intentions. "I'm not hungry."

"But you're the one who came in here," Uraraka pointed out and she looked a little harder at the blonde. He seemed distracted and his expression was guarded as he glared intently at the man that had claimed to be leaving. She followed Bakugo's gaze and saw that the man seemed jittery and anxious. Suddenly it dawned on her that something was up. This wasn't them picking up a late lunch, it was a mission that she hadn't been clued into beforehand.

The explosion hero tensed at her point and he broke his eyes away from the informant to look at her, "I'm fine. Get whatever you want."

Uraraka nodded quietly and signaled to the men that she'd only be buying one serving. The men seemed apprehensive as they set to packaging the food in a styrofoam cup. She was becoming painfully aware of how tense the room felt and hoped she could use some of her own skills to mend that. "So are you the owners?"

The man who had counted the money snapped a lid over the cup and reached for a bag, "Owners of what?"

"This shop," She stated dumbly and hoped that small talk would help ease the stress in the air. Whatever Bakugo was up to, she wanted to make sure he didn't blow it by being himself.

The second man that had been mostly silent watched as his counterpart put the meal inside a bag with some chopsticks, "Something like that." He turned his gaze onto her and she noticed how his eyes resembled a cat, "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm a curious person," She replied smoothly as she stepped all the way up to the counter and dug around in the small bag attached to her utility belt. "How much do I owe you?"

"It's on the house," The man who had packaged her food replied as he came to meet her at the counter. He pushed the bag across the counter toward her, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. He seemed to relax his glare when she beamed at him and thanked him for the meal.

She tied the bag over the top and turned to Bakugo. He met her gaze for a moment, a flicker of confusion crossed his eyes as she smiled at him and signaled toward the door, "Shall we go, Ground Zero?"

He seemed miffed by her positivity before taking one more long look at the men behind the counter, "Whatever."

"We're glad to know that heroes are hard at work in the streets these days," The man with the cat eyes quipped with a sneer as the heroes turned to leave. "Getting lunch during a patrol is the sign of a hero that is committed to the safety and welfare of our communities."

Bakugo bristled at the statement and lurched to face the men once more, "The fuck do you mean by that?"

Uraraka grew alarmed at Bakugo's rash response, "Surely they didn't mean any offense," She rested her hand on the blonde's arm before she turned her attention on the workers, "I apologize. We have been so busy today that we didn't get the chance to grab lunch. Thank you for the meal."

Bakugo hummed a low growl at the harsh gazes from the villains fronting as noodle house employees, "There hasn't been a villain on the streets for weeks. Why do you give a shit if we eat on patrol? The streets are safer than ever."

The informant flinched slightly at Bakugo's comment and the man with cat eyes smirked before replying, "You can't possibly assume that you've caught every villain in Tokyo… Hero."

"I'm not a fucking amateur," Bakugo snapped back harshly, "I don't give a shit if some villain fuck-sticks want to hide with their tails between their legs. I'll smoke them out anyway. It's only a matter of time."

The cat-eyed man and the one who packaged the food held Bakugo's harsh gaze effortlessly but the cat-eyed one was the one to speak, "I wish you the very best luck, Ground Zero. If I didn't know better, I'd say you've gone soft." He turned his eyes onto Uraraka's hand on Bakugo's arm.

The blonde hero shook off Uraraka's hand before he turned toward the door, "I don't need your damn luck." He wanted nothing more than to blow the entire ramen house to smithereens for the soft comment but he forced that inner flame to cool. "And any villain would could his goddamn lucky stars if I ever 'went soft' on them. And you'd be just as big a fucking idiot for assuming Uravity couldn't kick just as much ass."

Uraraka was taken aback by the compliment but she gathered her emotions in time to cast one last look at the men before she followed Bakugo outside. "What was that about?" She immediately asked once the door was shut behind them.

Bakugo grunted and began walking down the route of their patrol with a quick pace, "Shut the fuck up, roundface."

"No!" She snapped, "What was the point of that? Were they villains?"

Bakugo grit his teeth and turned an annoyed eye on her, "Fucking hell, roundface. Of course they were villains." He turned a corner so that they were out of view of the noodle shop and he snatched the bag out of her hand.

"Hey!" She chided as she watched him throw it into a garbage can. "Why would you do that?"

Bakugo rolled his eyes, "For fuck sake, it could be poisoned." He reached up and adjusted his mask a little as he mulled over the events of their surprise visit. His informant had hardly said a word the entire time the heroes were in the shop. Bakugo had watched as he fidgeted nervously and glanced at his two counterparts. He had reacted exactly as Bakugo had hoped he would.

Uraraka watched as Bakugo seemed to think hard for a minute, "So what was the point of going in there?"

"My informant," Bakugo broke from his thoughts. "He can be trusted."

Uraraka tilted her head, "Wait, one of those guys is your informant?"

The blonde sniffed at her question before he started their walk again, "You ask a lot of fucking stupid questions, roundface."

"How was I supposed to know?" Uraraka sputtered and began following him. "And why would you put your informant on the spot like that?"

Bakugo smirked internally at his ingenious idea to test his informant, "He was nervous as shit that we were there. He was scared as hell he'd get caught and outed as a hero informant. It was the most efficient way to know if we can trust his information."

Uraraka seemed to mull over his reply for a moment, "That's actually not a bad idea. So the noodle house is a front?"

"You're damn right it is," Bakugo replied sternly. "And it seemed to me that they weren't just fucking around before we got there either. Whatever is going to happen with the Mamushi group is going to happen soon."

"I'm ready," Uraraka breathed and felt a twinge of excitement in her chest. Perhaps this could be her big break moment that she had been hoping for. If she could help capture the Mamushi Viper or better yet, catch him herself, then she is sure that would boost her hero ranking ten times over.

Bakugo could almost feel her nervous energy and he glanced to his right to see her walking beside him. She was wearing a look he hadn't seen her wear before and it tickled his curiosity. She looked determined and almost vengeful. For a brief second, he was proud of himself for including her but then he reminded himself that he doesn't help people out of the kindness of his heart. No, he didn't include her to help her out, he did so because he'd seen her fight and he knew that she would be a great asset to capturing the Mamushi Viper. It was just business.

"Let's get back to the agency," Uraraka said with a stern tone. "I want to do a little training."

Bakugo scoffed, "You're going to need a hell of a lot more than just a little training, roundface."

She gawked at him, "Rude!"

Bakugo almost smirked but he caught himself, "If you need a sparring partner, I'm happy to kick your ass for free."

Uraraka laughed heartily and placed her fingertips against his arm, "Keep dreaming, Bakugo."

Bakugo felt his feet suddenly leave the ground as Uraraka continued walking, "What the shit?!"

"Take it back," She teased over her shoulder and she couldn't help but giggle at the furious face he wore as he floated upward. Truthfully, he'd had this coming for a while now. It made her laugh and it helped ease the confusion in her heart. She and Bakugo seemed to argue often but it wouldn't be more than a few minutes before they bounced back again. She'd learned not to take his insults so literally all the time and it paid off for moments like this. "Take it back and I'll let you down."

"Fuck you! Put me the fuck down right now or I swear I will fucking murder you!"

lol

I'm back.

I am very sorry for waiting 1.5 YEARS to update.

But... I'M BACK!

I'm sure you all hate my guts now so I wrote a SUPER long chapter for you guys. I will be back to regular updates but not as frequently as the past. I told you guys that I would be back so I'm holding to that promise. I know it's been a very long time but I got really inspired to continue this when I took an afternoon and read all of your reviews. It meant so much to me and I wanted to make sure I didn't let you all down. I WILL FINISH THIS FIC IF IT KILLS ME!

Instead of the normal review response format, I will be addressing all of you at once. THANK YOU so much for all the loving words of support and for sticking to this story. I really cannot express how much I adore each and every reviewer and reader. I hope you all haven't abandoned me over the last year or so but I will try to make it up to you. I am really looking forward to not only getting to deliver new chapters to you all but I also am excited to get back to having conversations with you guys. I adore each of you so much and I am so happy to be able to provide an update after all this time! I look forward to the future of this fanfic and I hope you all enjoy the ride. I would love to hear from you if you have returned.

Personal Note: I work a fulltime job and I'm taking a full load of courses for college this semester so I will be very busy BUT I want to make sure I designate a few hours every week to working on this for you all. I will be back with regular updates and I will hold to that promise this time. I have seen many of my favorite fics reignite recently with fresh updates years later and I thought now was as good a time as any to reappear. I have been away for a long time, so if there are any good new Kacchako fics out there, please send them my way! I need to be able to do more reading lol.

I will be back soon with another new chapter! Happy new year to all of you and I will see you again very soon! :)

XOXOXOXO (i love u guys)