A/N: Hello, hello, I come bearing gifts! I took a small break after Christmas, just to make sure I don't burn myself out. I also had a chain of flights I had to take to visit my parents, and I needed some RnR before getting back on the writing horse. I hung out with some friends and did some things for myself. Again, my husband is up in Alaska and I'm in Europe again, so next chapters will probably take a while to properly edit, so please be patient with me :)

Also, homegirl bought Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and I got sucked into that. 'Thanks, hyperfocus and hyper fixation, let's get back to work, yeah? ...No? ...Alright then.' That's essentially how it went lmao

Anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter, I always get so giddy and motivated when I get reviews 3 Thanks to everyone who left reviews on the last chapter!

The word Umchee means Hurry Up in Yu'pik.

Come Up Roses

The gentle sunlight peeking through the small opening in her curtains was enough to wake Urayuli from her restless slumber. She groggily sat up in her bed as she roughly wiped the sleep from her eyes. It had taken her a while to find a comfortable position for the night and even then, the events that transpired downstairs had her heart feeling uneasy. I can almost feel how deep the bags under my eyes are. Two nights of bad sleep in a row, Urayuli was over it.

Absentmindedly she grabbed her phone from her nightstand and grimaced at the soft blinking LED. Five new messages, with three from an unfamiliar number.

[Unknown Number] 6:45 :

Hey Yaraqpik! Sorry I left in a hurry yesterday! I forgot to ask for your number, so I texted Midoriya for it!

[Unknown Number] 6:46 :

It's your pal Kirishima btw!

A sleepy smile crept over her lips as she saved his contact information, before reading the last message.

[Kirishima] 6:46 :

I don't know if you anyone else has texted you yet, but they canceled classes for today. Get some rest.

Urayuli frowned as her eyes darted to the time displayed on the top-right corner of the screen. 8:38. Any other day and I would've been late. She quickly checked if anyone else had messaged her about it. Sure enough – both Yaoyorozu and Midoriya had texted her the same message about classes being canceled today and would resume on Friday. Probably sent it out to everybody. Still, Urayuli decided it was nice to not be forgotten. Besides, grandpa would never have let me sleep in like this. Her nose crinkled involuntarily. Yeah... Grandpa Max.

With a deep sigh, she let herself fall back in the bed, staring at the ceiling she had become well-acquainted with on some nights since coming to Japan. She lifted a hand above her, reaching out to it, before making a fist and lowering her arm so it rested across her eyes.

"Last night fucking sucked."

Urayuli watched as Calypso helplessly and feebly kicked her legs around while the much larger Max held her suspended against the wall. The older woman wasn't aiming to kick the man holding her so aggressively, but trying to get some sort of foothold as she was struggling to breathe. As much as Urayuli didn't like her, she couldn't just stand by and watch whatever was happening happen.

"Papa, it's not true!" She hopped over the mess he had left behind in the scuffle and latched onto his right arm, trying in vain to pull it down. "Calypso never told me about anything! I figured out how to do it by myself! She never taught me, I swear!"

"What?!" Max all but growled at his granddaughter, not quite believing her. He swiftly moved his head to face Urayuli without letting go of Calypso. His eyes bore into hers, trying to detect the tiniest hint of deception. She stared right back at him, unrelenting.

This time her words reached him as he unceremoniously dropped Calypso, having the woman fall on her ass and gasp for breath. Max's body fully turned to Urayuli, his face still holding some anger as he kept their eyes locked.

"She has never told you how to do it? You're certain?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Max let out a deep sigh of resignation as his jaw clenched harshly. He gave the deeply breathing blond on the floor a final conflicted stare before moving over to the forgotten coffee table. He lifted the table with one hand and flipped it back in its original position, and fetched the teacups with the other. Only a little bit reluctant, Urayuli moved over to Calypso to lift her up by her wrist, who gave her a kind smile in return but was able to get up on her own strength as she got her breathing under control. Max stood with his back to them as he spoke.

"What you did today is something Shifters call 'Mis-Shifting'," Max said in a low voice. "The reason your Quirk isn't working is that that's not something our bodies are supposed to do."

Calypso patted Urayuli on her shoulder, and this time she let her. Her breathing was back to normal, but still a bit shaky as she was trying to process what had just happened. Calypso quickly moved over to the kitchen to grab a rag from the counter and began wiping up the spilled tea. Neither adult looked at each other until Calypso broke the brief silence.

"It's something shifters are rarely able to do and even when they can, it's like their Quirk rejects it," Calypso explained in a quiet voice Urayuli hadn't heard before. "Mimics – like me – can do it freely because we can change our form at will, but shifters –"

"Us Shifters," – Max interrupted her roughly – "have to abide by the laws of nature. Shifting is easier for us because the form comes naturally. When you turn into a seagull for the first time, you already know how to fly. You have nothing to teach yourself. It comes with your instincts," Max explained, and Urayuli thought back to every time she ever shifted and how easy it was to just be the animal she turned into. How the animal's instinct was her own.

"Even for talented Mimics like Calypso," Max continued as he pointed to the woman with his hand, "some forms are more difficult to learn than others. We have rules we must abide by or face the consequences. When you Mis-Shift, you can become lost in a form you're unfamiliar with and never come back. Or worse yet, the unstable form might just kill you."

"So, Mis-Shifting is like... just turning into something you shouldn't?" Urayuli asked, the end of her sentence lilting up in an unsure fashion. Max gave her both a nod and a shrug.

"It's more than that. It's turning into something that doesn't – or shouldn't – exist." Max said. Urayuli's head spun from the amount of information.

"This..." Urayuli started, but couldn't find the words to describe what she was feeling. Exhaustion from the day or the onslaught of info that she now needed to remember for the rest of her life, she couldn't say.

"I know this is a lot to take in," Calypso clasped her hands together as she came closer to Urayuli, rag lying forgotten on the floor. "This won't be the last time we talk about this. But there are fates worse than death for shifters– "

Max coughed rather loudly and cleared his throat, making Urayuli and Calypso look at him in alarm. "How about we save that for another day," he said as he gave Calypso a pointed look. He walked over to the kitchen to drop the cups in the sink.

"Is that why I was in so much pain afterward?" Urayuli started, not willing to let the conversation die out just yet. "Because the form was unstable? What about my eyes?"

"It's one of the reasons." Max turned to look at her again and sighed. "My theory about your eyes is that your body could not keep up with you shifting and retained the Brown Recluse's eyesight instead. The pain in your sides were phantom pains from your extra legs suddenly disappearing."

Doesn't that only happen to amputees, Urayuli thought with a tight expression. But as she thought about it, the more it made sense; maybe her body perceived it as if her legs had been amputated? But her brief blindness worried her, as Brown Recluses aren't blind at all, they just don't see very well.

"When will my Quirk come back?" She asked, her voice small.

"Usually after a good night's sleep," Calypso added with an exaggerated yawn. "Speaking of which, I am beat. I'll come by again this weekend, that okay?" Urayuli nodded, understanding her unease. Despite her conflicting feelings towards the older woman, Urayuli could not fault her for needing to excuse herself. God knows she wanted to. Only one night of sleep, though? She could hardly believe it, but her grandfather gave no indication of it being untrue.

Max nodded tersely and Calypso took this as her cue to go. She hovered her hand above Urayuli's head for a short moment before retracting her hand and giving her a wobbly smile instead, leaving quietly through the door to the hallway. Granddaughter and grandfather were silent as they heard Calypso put on her boots and Urayuli could've sworn she heard the older woman's wet sniffle right before closing the door.

"Okay, what was that?" Urayuli asked after a moment of silence, turning to face Max. He held her gaze briefly before looking away from her.

"It's not important," he said curtly. Urayuli felt her fingers twitch in agitation, the words she so commonly used to deflect thrown back in her face.

"Yes. It is. I just asked." Urayuli said as steadfast as possible, feeling her words were justification enough. Max still refused to look at her. "Grandpa," she ground out, jaw clenching painfully.

Max let out a deep sigh as he sat down in his chair, leaning forward on his knees with his elbows. He clasped his hands together as if he was trying to ground himself.

"Calypso and I have been through a lot together," Max began, Urayuli noted how tired he sounded from the slightly stilted way he spoke. "Many of those wounds still aren't healed, but if you want to understand what just happened, it's as simple as this; I thought that she had tried to teach you something that would take you away from me."

The confession made Urayuli uneasy, her throat and mouth suddenly dried out instantaneously. She couldn't understand why Max would say something like that, especially considering he brought Calypso in the picture in the first place. There had to be more to it, she was sure of it.

"What does that mean, Papa? Why would she take me away?" Max didn't answer her immediately, just sighed deeply again. "Grandpa?" Still, he remained quiet, not even looking her in the eyes. Him not coming clean about whatever it was that happened in the past agitated her to no end. She'd like to think she understood where he was coming from, but she was so exhausted from being in the dark about him. She realized just how little she really knew about her grandfather. Him being so unwilling to confide in her was frustrating, and annoyingly familiar.

"You know what? Never mind," her throat felt tight and her eyes burned with unshed tears. "Now I finally understand why you hate my dad so much. You're exactly like him." She ignored Max's sharp inhale of breath as she left the living room with a scoff, closing the door to the hallway with a resounding click.

Urayuli wiped her face as she was preparing herself to get up, get dressed, and face the music. Or perhaps lack thereof, if my assumption of him is in any way correct. Urayuli thought back to the weeks leading up to her father's brief disappearance and how distant her father had been. How he had refused to be the first to apologize. Not that he had any malicious intent, she knew he had her best interest in mind. Yet, it did nothing to still the heavy feeling in her chest as she remembered his reaction whenever she asked about, for example, her mother. Kvichak would get a faraway look in his eye and stay quiet for a moment before saying:

"Maybe some other time, Yuli."

Any and all attempts to get him to open up about it were shut down almost immediately. Urayuli scoffed bitterly. And then to think he was always so adamant on honesty. Again, she understood why. It just made her feel like shit. I should call him today.

Stretching out, she slowly untangled her legs from the thick blankets, making a mental note to switch them out for thinner ones before it got too hot outside. On her way to the bathroom, she passed by the full-body mirror on her closet door and snickered at the state of her hair. She also noticed how truly tired she looked, the purple bags under her eyes made her blow air out of her mouth exasperatedly. "Goddamn," she muttered as she raked a hand through her dark and tangled locks.

After an uncharacteristically long and hot shower – the goal may or may not have been to completely rid the house of warm water – her hair was finally free of its snarls and her face looked less tired as the hot water had given it a slight rosy glow. Urayuli decided to blow-dry her hair instead of letting it air dry, not in the mood for wet hair all day. At least – that's what she was telling herself was the reason for taking so long in the bathroom.

Maybe it's time to check if my Quirk still works. She stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom, staring at her naked form. Calypso said she only needed a night's sleep for her Quirk to come back, but Urayuli was doubtful. She just couldn't imagine it being that easy if Mis-Shifting was akin to breaking the rules for Shifters. Still, her grandfather hadn't corrected the woman. Taking a deep breath, she envisioned the form of an otter. Warmth enveloped her as her bones shifted and changed shape and when she opened her eyes again, she gave a cry of relief when she saw a brown otter with cognac eyes gazing back at her. She swiftly turned back and crumbled to the floor, a sigh left her lips and happy tears slid down her cheeks. "Oh, thank god..."

Before long, Urayuli stood at the top of the staircase with a dry face, dressed in a black tank-top and a blue flannel shirt that actually fit her. One of the many tags on the inside of her black jeans scratched against the skin of her hip. I should cut that thing out.

She closed her eyes, concentrating on the lack of noise from downstairs. The smell of wood-smoke and pine was very present, as well as the smell of waffles and syrup. Max was still home and had made breakfast. Urayuli exhaled through her nose as she scratched the back of her knee with her toes. She tried to make as little noise coming down the stairs as possible, despite knowing Max could hear her regardless.

Urayuli had to admit to herself that it might have been wrong of her to compare Max to Kvichak when it came to her asking questions. While Kvichak would only talk about her mother whenever it was convenient for him, she could understand the difficulty of even hearing her being mentioned by someone else, even if it was his own daughter. And even though Max might not jump at the opportunity to talk about certain topics, he at least tried to give her straight answers when she asked for them. Except for last night, obviously.

When Urayuli entered the living room, the rich aroma of butter and maple syrup that washed over her made her eyes flutter. Damn, that smells fantastic. She walked over to the kitchen and saw Max sitting at the table with his chin resting on his folded hands. Like her, he had dark bags under his eyes. Didn't have a good night either, huh? The moment she showed her face he stood up and grabbed a plate of waffles and set it on the table with a sigh. Urayuli's stomach clenched. Is this going to be the moment he wants to negotiate with me to make me apologize? She stared at the still steaming waffles for a moment.

"Grandpa –"

"I'm sorry, Urayuli."

Come again? Urayuli gave Max a bug-eyed look, unsure if she had heard him correctly.

"I need you to understand that there are some things that are very difficult for me to talk about," he told her seriously. "I want to teach you everything I know, but it'll take a long time and I don't want to mess this up like I did the last time with Calypso." Urayuli's heart beat a little faster in anticipation and she nodded for him to continue.

"She was my apprentice and I failed her. She is a talented shifter, beyond talented even. Which is why I swallowed my pride and invited her to help you." Max said as he raked a hand through his white hair. Urayuli was thankful for the short silence, allowing her to ask questions of her own.

"Why would you think she would take me away?" Urayuli asked. "You said something about that last night." Max sighed deeply at her question and Urayuli dreaded the answer, but she had to know.

"Because the last time she and I spoke, she used that same technique – Mis-Shifting – to transform into something I told her not to."

"What, did she transform into a dragon or something? What?"

"A person." Max's confession made her heart stop and her eyes widen from shock. She can do something like that? "She used her Quirk to try and get what she wanted, therefore using it for the wrong reasons. So I sent her away and I told her I never wanted to see her again. For two years I taught her everything I knew, and she used it against me. That's why what happened last night happened..." Urayuli absentmindedly took a large bite from her waffles, her eyes trained on her clenched fist next to her plate. If I hadn't turned into that damn spider, none of this would've happened. As if he had read her mind, Max said, "You did nothing wrong, you just stumbled upon something you should have never seen. And now it's my turn to apologize to her too."

She kept eating quietly, unsure of what to say to him. This was the most he had told her about his past with Calypso, but it felt like he hadn't told her anything at all. Urayuli was a little surprised to learn the older woman used to be Max's apprentice and wondered what the details were of their falling out. Maybe I'll ask him about it some other time.

"Urayuli," Max started again. "You must never do that again. Mis-Shifting, I mean. Whether you understand it or not. Trust me when I say it's for your own good." Despite how useful it was to her yesterday, she felt herself nod in agreement. Just thinking about the pain that came afterward had her cringing.

"Okay, Grandpa. I won't." She was quiet for a moment. "What's gonna happen with Calypso?"

"I'll go to her and apologize, and she will continue helping me train you," Max said. Urayuli let the information settle, feeling a little relieved, oddly enough. She had no love for the woman, she was an outsider and she had apparently hurt Max in the past. However, she had treated Urayuli with respect from the start, and that was more than she could say about other adults in her life. There's just one thing...

"Something about her bothers me," Urayuli said and it made Max look up from his clasped hands to her face. "She is a stranger to me, and she knows so much more about you than I do."

"I've known her for a long time, and she knew me when I was younger," Max reached over to put his hand on her shoulder. "She was my first apprentice, but you will be my last. And everything she knows, you'll know too – in time. But you have to be patient, kituuqta."

Urayuli smiled briefly before another thought popped up in her mind. A question Calypso had left unanswered when confronted. "Why does she call you 'crow'?" Max's left eye twitched, and Urayuli would've missed it if she wasn't staring so intently at his face. His eye relaxed and a crooked grin spread over his lips.

"Hahaha, well..." Max scratched behind his ear. "If you can believe it, my hair used to be jet-black."

"Is that seriously it?" Urayuli pouted, unsatisfied with his answer. Calypso said the same thing, but...

"Yeah, I did really use to have black hair. Now finish your breakfast and get out of here." He said as he stood up from the table.

"Get out of here?" Urayuli asked.

"We're running low on groceries, and this will be a good time for you to clear your head." He grabbed a slip of paper from the counter-top and handed it to her. Urayuli scanned the list with narrowed eyes and tsked – it was all in Japanese.

"Alright," Urayuli conceded as she collected her plate and cutlery and carefully dropped it in the sink. She moved to exit the kitchen but turned around to face her grandfather. "Cheda." Hearing Urayuli speaking Yup'ik had Max look at her face in endeared shock, as it wasn't often she called him that. "Are... are we good?"

Max's face softened before an equally soft smile appeared on his face. This one reaches his eyes. "Of course, kituuqta. Now scram, umchee."

When the front door closed after Urayuli had put on her shoes, Max let out a deep sigh as he sat back down, dropped his face in his palms and harshly rubbing his eyes. With everything that'd happened the night before, he was surprised he had gotten any sleep at all. I'm getting too old for this shit.

He didn't stiffen when the pantry door behind him slid open, having expected it the moment Urayuli left the house. Out slipped his blond-haired former apprentice, dressed casually in tight jeans and a thin off-shoulder sweater. Like a cat, she had sneaked into the house earlier that morning through the downstairs bathroom, wanting to keep her presence a secret for the girl sleeping upstairs.

"I see why you didn't want me to see her this morning." Calypso mused as she grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter. Max watched her as she leaned against the fridge door.

He told Urayuli he was going to apologize to the woman, when in fact he had already been to her house in the wee hours of the night to properly apologize for his actions. Calypso had opened the door to her apartment – eyes puffy and the red around her nose contrasting harshly against her pale skin, and it caused his stomach to turn. When he told her how sorry he was for his hasty assumptions, her easy smile broke over her lips. She had waved away his apology, saying she understood, and they spoke for a while before Max eventually left.

"She needed some one-on-one time with me. I fear she thinks this house is getting too crowded, and I want her to feel safe here." Max was fully aware Urayuli didn't appreciate Calypso's presence in their house, and he knew Calypso at least had the same inkling – she wasn't stupid. Urayuli was used to having only a father figure in her life, so adjusting to living with just him was easy. Suddenly having another person in the mix, a woman to boot – Max understood her wariness.

It was quiet for a brief moment, the only sound coming from the clock ticking in the living room. "You know she thinks you're full of shit about your little nickname, right?"

"Yeah," Max sighed. "I know. But I can't have her lose focus now." Max stood up again and popped his back. "Come on, I've got some errands to run."

Urayuli's leisurely walk to the supermarket was as uneventful as it could get, which was something she appreciated. Rock music was playing in her earbuds tethered to her phone. While Max had suggested she clear her head, it was still swirling with the information both him and Calypso had given her.

First off, it was clear to her there were different kinds of shapeshifters, all with their own set of rules and regulations. Max had distinguished her and himself as just 'Shifters' as if separating them from someone like Calypso, who had called herself a 'Mimic'. So what exactly is a Mimic, then? From what she could tell, a Mimic could change into animals just like a Shifter, but the instincts were missing. And as far as I know, someone like Calypso could in theory also shift into people. She remembered how distraught she was when Calypso had spoken to her in her cat form. Maybe they can only change the form they're in, but not other attributes like voice and instinct. And as is the case with Calypso, any animal she turns into has her deep green eyes and pale blond coat color.

As for Shifters, all she could tell was that they can turn into animals and gain their instincts and sounds. They're unable to speak like humans and were almost indistinguishable from other animals. The only thing separating them from other animals – at least in the case of Urayuli and Max – was that Shifters retained their eye color, just like Calypso. Though both of them had, as some people noted, an almost unnerving orangey hue to their eyes that was present with every form they took.

Does the mere existence of both Mimics and Shifters mean that there are other types of shapeshifters? The thought almost gave her a headache.

The automatic doors opened when she stepped in front of them and a cool wave of air from the air-conditioner washed over her. Urayuli crinkled her nose, supermarkets always had this odd smell to them. It was a weird mix of cleaning detergent and plastic packaging, and they only served to dampen the barely noticeable scent of fresh fruit and meats. She shifted the tote-bag she brought with her from her hand to hang it over her shoulder and grabbed one of the metal baskets at the entrance.

Urayuli walked through the aisles at a slow pace, wanting to take her time and to actually try to clear her head as Max had suggested. She eyed the shopping list in her hand, carefully reading it over before reading the lettering on the items she needed. Her biggest problem with the Japanese language was the different fonts people used. Companies often used less than traditional fonts for their products, so it was sometimes difficult for Urayuli to read. Aside from being almost unable to read them, Urayuli kept having problems with reading katakana.

Alright, let's start with the candy on this list. While Urayuli herself was more of a salty snack fan, Max seemed to have somewhat of a sweet-tooth, being partial to grape and sour candies. She read the name of the candy on the list. Kaju Gummy. She scanned the wall of packaged candy before zeroing in on the one she was looking for. Urayuli laughed after inspecting and reading the words on the packaging. Kudamono tabeyou. Let's eat fruit? Is there even any real fruit in this?

Okay, next up. Uhhh... Try as she might, she had difficulty reading the next item. The first part of the kanji was the word for 'fish', it was the second part she was unable to decipher. The next kanji is... Fushi? She stared at the tiny piece of paper for what felt like an eternity and she was growing more frustrated by the second. She put most of her weight on one leg as she cocked her hip to the side, lost in thought.

A raspy voice next to her said something she couldn't hear properly, making Urayuli jump at the suddenness and she turned her head to the source of the sound. Of all people, Bakugo stood a few feet away from her, tightly gripping the handles of his basket with one hand. He was dressed in a black t-shirt, an open yellow flannel shirt, and tan pants. Can't catch a fucking break this week, huh?

"W-what?" She asked as she took out one of her earbuds, not having heard what he said. He tsked and narrowed his eyes.

"I said, what are you doing just standing there." There was an almost accusatory emphasis on the word 'you' as he said it. Urayuli raised an eyebrow.

"Getting my pilot's license, what does it look like I'm doing?" She joked with an incredulous smile on her face. The way he was glaring at her made it clear he didn't think it was funny, so she quickly backpedaled as she fingered the cable of her earbuds. "My grandfather asked me to do groceries."

Bakugo took a glance at the contents in her basket and crinkled his nose. "Groceries? There's nothing but candy in there."

"I'm not exactly done, I just grabbed the candy first because it was easy," Urayuli said. "There are more items on this list, like –" she squinted at the note for a second "–chicken wings and –" another peek but her gaze rested on the item she had been unable to translate "–okay, so I can't actually read this word."

"Is your Japanese so bad that you can't even read proper kanji? How did you even get into U.A.?" Bakugo asked pointedly. Urayuli felt an embarrassed warmth flush her face.

"Some kanji are difficult, okay! Like this one," she held up the slip of paper with her finger next to the word she couldn't read. "I recognize parts of it, but other than that, I have no idea what this is." Bakugo snatched the paper from her hand to read it over. He looked back to her face with a slight narrowing of his eyes, as if he was debating whether to help her or not. Urayuli put her hands together as if in prayer. "Listen, if you help me, I'll forget all about that bet from Tuesday and we can just leave it behind us."

He didn't say anything when he briskly walked past her with the note still in hand and she followed after him in a hurry. "So, you're spending your free day doing groceries too, huh?" She mused, trying to make conversation.

"None of your business, furball," He said harshly. Urayuli grimaced. Rude. She tried not to feel annoyed, telling herself he was just like this and that she shouldn't have been surprised at his response. "That stupid old hag is having people over, so she sent me out to get her shit." He grumbled without stopping or looking at her. She felt herself grin despite herself. Something about his answer made her wonder, though. Where have I heard that term before?

After a minute or so, they stopped in front of an aisle filled with products Urayuli didn't recognize. Bakugo grabbed one of the bags lining the aisle and flung it behind him, forcing Urayuli to catch it in the air. She inspected the contents of the bag through the clear plastic before reading the letters at the top with a frown.

"Katsuobushi?" She asked as she gazed back at him. It took her a moment before she finally remembered. "Oh! They're like bonito flakes! Thanks a lot." She smiled at him, to which he grunted and looked away. She held out her hand to take the list back from him, but he dropped his gaze to it.

"Next up is spaghetti noodles." He said and walked off. Urayuli scrambled after him again.

"Hey, that's okay. I can find the rest of the items." She tried to convince him, but he just gave a loud 'Ha' in response.

"Your Japanese is so bad, you'll be here until midnight if I don't help you," Bakugo said with a cocky smirk as they reached the aisle with noodles and blindly grabbed the packaged spaghetti.

"It really isn't, but whatever helps you sleep at night, I suppose." Urayuli returned as she held up her basket for him to throw the pasta in. "Don't you have shopping of your own to do? Need some help with that?"

"Shut up! As if I need help doing goddamn groceries like you!" He yelled as he stomped towards her, his voice loud enough for some people to start staring at the two of them. He noticed their eyes on him and he turned to the onlookers to bark, "What are you looking at?!" Urayuli, without thinking, grabbed him by the shoulder to turn him away from their prying eyes and started leading him through the store.

"All good, I won't help," Urayuli tried to placate, letting go of his shoulder after they reached a more secluded aisle. "Let's just get the next items on the list, yeah?" Bakugo grumbled for a moment but otherwise said nothing. Nodding to herself, Urayuli absentmindedly grabbed something from the wall, which turned out to just be some oatmeal. She didn't need it, but she needed an excuse to keep her hands busy so as not to force him to speak.

After almost silently perusing through the store and collecting the remaining groceries, Bakugo handed her the list back and Urayuli read it over to check if they had missed anything. She peered in her basket and nodded.

"I guess that was everything. Thanks for your help, Bakugo." She smiled to herself when suddenly the events from the day before resurfaced momentarily. It hadn't escaped her notice that he hadn't asked any questions about her Quirk the entire time today, despite her confiding in him about her Quirk's disappearance the day before. For some reason, she felt compelled to tell him what she had learned. "By the way, my Quirk works again."

"Guess you're not getting kicked out just yet, huh?" Bakugo sneered, and Urayuli felt herself bristle a bit before calming herself down, not wanting to create another scene. Again, rude.

"Guess not." She managed to say through her teeth. It was strange how easily he could rile her up. She let her gaze drop to her shoes and realized what she was wearing. Her eyes lifted as she scanned Bakugo's outfit and she grinned. "Oh wow, I hadn't noticed before, but we're matching."

"Hah?" He barked before looking down at his clothes. His eyes snapped back to her face and grumbled. "Of course an extra like you would copy someone as great as me! Don't do it again!"

"Oh, come on." Urayuli grinned wider. "We're basically twinsies at school, with the uniform and all. Might as well go all the way outside of school, too. We should try to coordinate outfits, seeing as we have such similar fashion tastes." Bakugo's face scrunched up in irritation and mild disgust as the fist that wasn't holding onto his basket started crackling. "Alright, alright, no need to 'explode' on me." The popping got louder.

"If you tell anyone at school about this –"

"You'll kill me, noted," Urayuli finished for him with a lazy smile. "They're just clothes, man," She turned around towards the cash registers. "Enjoy your free day and see you tomorrow."

She waved behind her as she walked to the old lady behind the register, done with interacting with him for the day. It wasn't hard for her to admit she had enjoyed her time with him, however brief it was. He had helped her finish her grocery run, no matter how reluctant he seemed. She was glad she had a slightly easier time talking to him, especially after the interactions they've had over the past week. Bakugo isn't anything like the people back in Alaska. Nobody I've met here is. The realization made her oddly happy.

When she got home, the house was empty. Urayuli set the groceries on the counter and when she moved to the fridge, she noticed a post-it note sticking to the door.

Running some errands - will be back later.

With a hum, she resumed putting the groceries away. When she was done she plopped down on the couch and took out her phone.

[Yaraqpik] 10:12 :

Hey Kirishima, thanks for the heads-up

I talked to my grandpa, Quirk came back this morning. Wanted to let you know everything is fine

What have you been up to today?

Urayuli tapped on her phone to open a new chat with Uraraka to send her essentially the same message. Before long her phone started vibrating, the screen lighting up with Uraraka's name. Urayuli picked up.

"Yo," She answered lamely.

"Hi, Yaraqpik-san!" Uraraka's bubbly voice crackled through the phone. "How are you doing?"

"All things considered? Okay, I suppose. How have you been holding up since yesterday?"

"I'm really worried about Aizawa-sensei and Thirteen, to tell you the truth," Uraraka said quietly.

"That's right, you were right there when it happened," Urayuli recalled. She stood up to pace around the living room. "I can imagine that was scary."

"It was, but I'm thankful the other teachers arrived when they did," Uraraka said with a sigh. "I don't know what would've happened otherwise, and I don't like thinking about it."

"You can say that again," Urayuli agreed, shuddering at the thought despite herself. "What have you been doing all day?"

"The day has barely started, silly!" Uraraka laughed. "But, I've been doing homework, mostly. Did everything go alright with your Quirk?"

"Mostly," Urayuli said as she kicked an imaginary rock. "My grandfather and his... 'friend' – I suppose – assured me it would come back to me after some sleep."

"That's good! You didn't get sick from being in the water or anything?" Uraraka asked.

The conversation slowly lulled into small talk, the two girls not talking about anything of significance. Urayuli was happy about it, though. She was glad she now had girlfriends she could talk to, even if the topic was nothing to write home about. They talked about their favorite snacks and music – Urayuli learned Uraraka was partial to Pocky and pretzels and enjoyed pop-music. Before either of them knew it, an hour had passed. Max still wasn't back. After another ten minutes, Urayuli called it quits and the two girls said their good-byes.

She checked if she had gotten any new messages from Kirishima in the meantime. Sure enough, she had.

[Kirishima] 10:32 :

Good to hear your Quirk works again! Can't imagine it being gone forever

I was busy with homework and working out today, wbu?

[Yaraqpik] 11:34 :

sorry for the late reply, was on the phone with Uraraka

did some groceries and sitting on the couch

how come everyone is doing homework

[Kirishima] 11:36 :

don't tell me you're a slacker? o_o

I can't believe it

are you by any chance

a delinquent Yankee Ô.o

[Yaraqpik] 11:39 :

That's me, Yankee Yaraqpik

OMW to not do what society tells me to do

stick it to the man

[Kirishima] 11:40 :

Oh wow, I've never met a delinquent like you

how do I become as cool as you?

[Yaraqpik] 11:41 :

You can't become as cool as me

you have to be born cool

and I don't think you got what it takes

[Kirishima] 11:41 :

I do, sempai, I do!

Teach me your ways |_(0.0)_|

Urayuli laughed out loud at the ridiculous texts. It made her glad she had friends she could talk to like this. Still, she figured she had to start on her homework as well. I don't want to actually slack on my coursework. She went up to her room and fished her books out of her bag and got to work.

"Thank God." Urayuli groaned loudly when she finally finished her homework. Her right hand was cramping from her aggressive pen-holding after almost three hours. She slumped back in her chair, letting her head hang over the back of it. Fuck math, honestly.

The sound of a key sliding in the door made her perk up. Grandpa's home. She dropped her pen on her open notebook and made her way downstairs. Max was carrying two reusable shopping-bags and was toeing off his boots and stepping in his house crocs.

"You're back," Urayuli said. Max grunted as he stepped out of the genkan.

"Yeah. Did everything go okay at the store?" He asked as he walked to the living room, Urayuli right behind him.

"I had some trouble translating some of the things on the list, thanks for that," Urayuli said snarkily as she sat down on her spot at the kitchen table. Max set the bags down next to him as he sat down as well.

"Don't complain, you needed the practice anyway," Max chided. "How did you manage in the end?"

"I ran into a classmate – that same classmate that acted insane during the quirk apprehension test, remember him?" Urayuli waited until Max nodded as he recalled what she had told him. "He helped me out."

"Huh. Guess he's not as much of a rabid monkey as you said he was," Max mused as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, grinning at his granddaughter.

"Oh no, he is." Urayuli deadpanned. "He caused a scene at the store when I asked him if he needed any help. Bit of an overreaction."

"Ah, so he's one of those types," Max snorted.

"Tell me about it, dude needs a hobby," Urayuli said as she moved to rest the side of her head on the table.

"Funny you should say that because I got you this," Max said as he leaned sideways to grab something out of the bags he brought with him. He set down a tiny potted plant – no bigger than a cereal bowl – in front of Urayuli's face. She raised her head and stared at the tiny seedling. Her gaze moved back to Max, who was smiling at her expectantly. "It's a tomato plant."

"Ah."

Max's face dropped slightly. "It's for you." For me?

"Why are you giving me a tomato plant?" Urayuli was confused, and absentmindedly stroked one of the tiny leaves with her finger. Max's face softened a bit.

"It sometimes feels as if you don't really have a hobby of your own, you usually play videogames or watch shows with me when we're not training," Max explained. Urayuli wanted to argue that videogames and tv shows were also a hobby, but knew he would disagree. That's old people for ya. "I didn't want to make you do anything that would take your attention from your schooling too much, like a musical instrument. I also know for a fact that art isn't exactly your thing," he grinned at her as she glared at him. He's not wrong, but still. "So I thought maybe gardening would be more your forte."

Urayuli stared at her grandfather as she thought it over. "I've never taken care of a plant before."

"Then it's time for you to learn, don't you think?" Max argued, and Urayuli couldn't disagree. "You can keep her in your windowsill, enough sunlight comes through your window during the day."

"If you say so," she said as she softly tapped the top leaves.

"I do," Max said. "Just look up online on how to take care of her."

Urayuli sighed. "This is a huge responsibility you're springing on me, grandpa."

"Think of it like taking care of a cat, except you water it and it doesn't shit in a box," Max said as he got up from his seat. Urayuli snorted at the crassness of his words. "Who knows, maybe there's a closet botanist somewhere deep inside you."

"Doubtful, but it doesn't hurt to try, I suppose." Urayuli relented. She thought to herself, what could it really hurt? It's just a plant.

In her room, Urayuli took a moment to inspect her new project of sorts. The plant was still a seedling, the stem wasn't tall – maybe an inch – and only a few leaves were sprouting from it. Grabbing her phone and tapping some keys, she searched and found a guide on how to take care of tomatoes. "Let's see... 'Make sure to keep the soil moist, not wet'," Urayuli put her hand in the pot and wriggled two fingers into the soil until it reached her nail-beds. I suppose it's a little dry? She took her fingers out and wiped them on her jeans.

"What's next... 'something something six hours of sunlight'," she mumbled as she assessed how much sun the tiny plant would get on her desk. Right, not enough then. Time to move.

"Okay, there you go," Urayuli said to no one in particular – or was she talking to the tomato? – as she put the tiny potted plant on her windowsill. The sun was still high in the sky and shining brightly, apparently perfect for tomato plants. The only thing left to do was to give the tiny seedling some water. Urayuli snatched her water bottle from her backpack – about a cup was left – and emptied it on the soil.

"And now we wait until you grow bigger," Urayuli explained. Why do I keep talking out loud, it's just a tomato, Urayuli grumbled to herself as she shook her head. She took another gander at her phone. "'Tomatoes need to feel a breeze so their stems grow strong'. Okidoki," she said as she opened the window.

Urayuli sat down backward in her swivel-chair, resting her chin on her crossed arms on the top of it as she stared at the little potted plant. A slight breeze made the tiny leaves dance gently. Still, gardening felt a little boring to Urayuli. How do I make this more fun for myself? She looked around her room for inspiration, and her eyes finally rested on her colorful pens and markers. An idea, much like the tomato, was planted in her brain. She reached for them and a piece of paper and some tape.

A few minutes later, she was finished with her creative task. I might be bad at art, but no one is truly bad at doodling. She carefully grabbed the tiny name-card she had made and taped it to the pot, swirling leaves in green and blue lining the edges like a frame, with a name penned down in black in the center.

Maria

When she wrote the name down, she almost wanted to abandon the card altogether, feeling that using her late mother's name might've been inappropriate. But the longer she stared at the name, the more it made her feel less... empty.

Urayuli grabbed the photograph of her mother – the one with Kvichak in a tuxedo and her in a dress – and after smoothing it over on her thigh, gently opened the picture frame that held the picture of her and her father. She carefully moved her mother's picture over hers so they fit just right, the smiling faces of her and her parents beaming back at her. Her heart clenched and she smiled, her eyes pricking with the need to cry.