Author's Note: As always, thank you all for the faves, reviews, and follows! :)


Chapter 9

Can't Shake You

February 28th, Wednesday, 8:00 PM

… she ended up a little late to her internship that night.

She ended up seeing a lot of the Orion staff at her school. It worked out.

After getting bandaged up and fast food, she ended up in the office of her new boss, continuing to eat.

"You've had an exciting year so far." Noltz spoke at his desk, and turned the TV screen on. They were playing footage of what happened. At the moment, they were playing a clip of one of the nomus trying to get her falling body, and Katsuki attempting to beat the shit out of it with his explosion quirk.

The newswoman pulled up pictures of Yurei and Katsuki, and while Yurei was smiling at the camera, they used Katsuki's picture from the competition, where he was angry and had a first place medal hanging from his mouth.

"Yeah." Yurei agreed.

"I can't think of another college freshman that has had such good publicity. You have a great quirk and you're excellent in tense situations. You've also, somehow, been able to team up with one of the most explosive personalities I've ever seen. It's impressive." Noltz spoke.

"Thanks." Yurei said.

"Seriously. I'm friends with the Jeanist, the person who worked with Bakugou for his last internship, and it didn't go well. A lot of pairs of jeans were destroyed and Bakugou scared a lot of children. I also saw the competition where he beat the gravity girl up. He's not easy to deal with. Very strong, but very volatile." Noltz said.

"I've dealt with worse people." Yurei said with a shrug, and winced at her shoulder injury.

"From what Momentum told me, you're thinking of working part-time at H.T.S. and part time somewhere else. Somewhere that's not as heavy and serious. Orion primarily functions through contracts, so we take in a lot of heroes, and when clients need protection or security, we'll figure out who's the best hero to send out there for the job. There's a lot of variety to the clients we have, so you would have a lot of diversity in the jobs you take. Some of them can be quite fun, like workshops for children who want to become heroes.

"Sometimes we have heroes work as partners. Some people like to rotate who they're partnered with, while others, like to keep the same partner for their jobs." Noltz spoke, and she had a feeling about where he was going with this.

"How do you feel about working with Bakugou?" Noltz asked.

"Katsuki seems intent on working with H.T.S. full time." Yurei said.

"Because of today's events, he will probably get a lot more internship offers, and he might not want to do every school term at H.T.S. One of the things I was considering doing is making an offer to both of you; both of you do an internship here, and you'll get an additional bonus for working as a team." Noltz explained.

"... why?" Yurei asked.

"Bakugou is strong, but he's not good around people. He's good at causing damage, and based on what I've heard, he doesn't work well with others. He's downright violent and volatile. I would be interested in having him here if he's working with someone that can keep him in line." Holtz said.

"... so you want us as a pair so you can have Katsuki's strength and I'd be his keeper." Yurei summarized.

"I've made it clear that I value you as a hero. You wouldn't just be his keeper." Holtz said, and nodded to the screen again. She looked over, watching as they did a zoom in to her trying to get on the flying nomu's back. She was phasing through it, getting onto its back, and pausing.

The spike went through her, the creature moved, and she started to fall. They did slow motion of the creature snapping its jaws through her. The captions read "you might recognize that as Kasai Yurei, the student that saved the lives of over thirty people at the failed raid last month. She seems to be luring the monster away as her teammate attacks it. Even if I had her quirk, I'd be terrified to do that. One mistake and you're dead."

"This is more of an opportunity for Bakugou, but also an opportunity for you to try out working with him. If you dislike working with him, you don't have to take the offer. You can do the internship as planned." Holtz said.

She had honestly hoped to do this internship alone, but she wasn't opposed to working with Katsuki more often.

"I doubt he'll accept the offer, but I don't mind if you propose it. I don't mind working with him. He's blunt but he's well meaning… mostly." Yurei said.

1.

March 1st, Thursday, 5:00 PM

Yurei was still munching on food as she arrived at Orion HQ the next day. She flashed her card at the security guard, and he nodded with a smile, letting her through.

As she went into the main lobby area, she saw a head of pink hair that made her freeze in place.

Her glossy pink lips quirked into an annoying smirk.

Yurei had been so busy lately that she forgot about her.

Maybe I should have acted more excited at the idea of Katsuki working with me. Maybe he'd scare her off for me. Yurei wondered, and went back to eating her rice as she walked towards the locker room to change. Once inside, she changed into a nice pair of gray and neon orange pants with the Orion symbol along the sides, and then a simple black t-shirt. Then, she put her stuff away, and went back to munching as she made her way to the gym.

When she got inside, she was just as awestruck as she'd been the first time she saw it.

It was huge. It was basically a warehouse filled with padding, some circles hanging from the ceiling, and red. Everything was red.

"Sorry, Kasai, but food isn't allowed in here." Someone said, and she looked over, seeing a guy dressed in matching clothes as her. He was tall and slender, with a charismatic grin and short dark hair.

"Sorry. I've been eating a lot since I overused my quirk the other day. If I don't eat enough, I can slip into a coma." Yurei explained, and his eyebrows rose in alarm. "I'll eat it quickly in the locker room, though. I'll be right back."

She ducked back into the locker room, quickly finished off the rice, and then threw the container out. When she got back into the room, Hana was also entering. Yurei didn't realize that she was wearing sweats before.

"Why are you here?" Yurei asked.

"She's also here for the internship. A few students from your school were recruited by Orion." The guy said with a smile. "You two will be doing a teamwork exercise today. It'll help us get an idea for how you work with other people, and who to team you up with next week for your next assignment."

"Who are the other students?" Yurei asked.

"Yoroshiku, Iida, Mineta…." He listed off, and Yurei's eye twitched. She should have listened to Katsuki. At least this is only for four weeks.

"This is going to be fun! I can't believe I'm going to get to work with Yurei!" Hana said in a bubbly voice.

"What kind of exercise are we doing?" Yurei asked.

"All you have to do is get across the room and get to those golden rings at the end." He said.

Yurei turned to the main floor of the room, and wondered what was so difficult about that. The rings were pretty high up, near the corner of the ceiling.

"How are we supposed to get all the way up there?" Hana asked.

Multiple fake ghosts appeared around Yurei, messing with her, and she glared at Hana.

"Figure it out. Once you both get up there, we can move on to the next exercise. I'll be taking notes on how well you work together."

Yurei moved forward, and hopped off of the padded ground, expecting to land on similarly padded ground a few inches below.

It was not padded.

She sunk a few inches, and then she immediately phased, which caused the floor to ripple around her. Hana then hopped on, and screamed at the top of her lungs as her body sunk, and the rest of the floor went up.

The entire floor was like a giant air mattress. Yurei went up with the floor, rising several yards, and smirked down at Hana, who had fallen on her ass. Her face was bright red, a darker shade than her hair, and when she realized that Yurei was laughing at her, pouted.

"Why didn't you go down when you jumped on it!?" Hana asked.

"Because I'm not fat." Yurei replied.

"YOU ARE SUCH A BITCH!" Hana screamed at her.

"Oh yeah, grader guy?" Yurei spoke, turning to him. "She used to stalk me all through high school, and gave out porn at my school, so how I act with her will be very different than how I act with other people."

"SHE'S LYING! HER MOM IS A PORNSTAR!" Hana screamed, and continued ranting, yelling a lot of not appropriate things at her.

Getting tired of her yelling, Yurei solidified, sending her falling down and Hana flying up, screaming at the top of her lungs.

2.

March 2nd, Friday, 12:20 AM

She got to her parent's house late that night, since she couldn't go back to the dorms yet. The internship went later than expected.

She'd been tasked with teaming up with Tenya and Hana.

Hana screamed the entire time. Tenya cried the entire time.

Her mom was in a panic when she got there, crying and hugging her. Her dad awkwardly stood to the side and told her that she did a good job. Afterwards, Yurei went to her room, and waited for her parents to go to bed, before going downstairs to the living room.

She sat on the couch, phone in her hand, and leaning into the cushions. Her mind kept going to the exercises with Hana and Tenya, replaying the events over and over again in her head, second guessing herself.

Now they're going to think that I work well with Katsuki because I'm an asshole, too. I made Hana go into a fit and Tenya cried the entire time.

She had offered to use her quirk on Tenya to ease his guilt, and make him more functional, but he refused, saying that he "needs to feel the guilt as punishment for what he did." The person examining them took a lot of notes.

She went through her contacts, wondering who she could text this late, and thought about Mina. Then, she came across Katsuki's number.

She started texting him before she'd consciously made the decision, asking if he was awake.

K. Bakugou: The fuck do you want?

Me: Can we talk?

Yurei expected him to decline, but then her phone lit up, indicating that he was calling her. She answered, and pressed the cold device against her ear. "The fuck do you want?" Katsuki barked at her, and she smiled.

A few tears fell down her cheek.

"How are you doing?" Yurei asked.

He sighed, and she heard shifting in the background. He muttered, "can't sleep."

"Nightmares?" Yurei asked.

"I guess." He grumbled.

She smiled.

"You were right about Orion. I shouldn't have agreed to it." Yurei said, and he snorted.

"That bad?" Katsuki asked.

"It couldn't have gone worse. I may have fucked up any chance of a good working relationship with them. Good thing I signed that contract for the next few weeks." Yurei said, and he snorted again.

At least he's getting a good laugh. Yurei thought with a smile, finding herself comforted by the sound of his voice.

"What did you do that was so bad?" Katsuki asked.

"They wanted me to do exercises with people, to see how well I work with other people for future partners. They paired me up with Hana and Tenya." Yurei said, and she got a few chuckles from him that time. "I called Hana fat, and she screamed about my mom being in porn. Tenya cried the entire time."

He snorted again, trying to stifle his laughter; he was probably trying to not wake his parents. Since the attack on campus, students weren't allowed to stay at the dorms until school came back into session, so they were stuck at their parents' for now.

"They're going to ask you to join, though. They're going to give us a bonus if we work at Orion together." Yurei said.

He was still laughing over what she said before.

"Yeah, you're really convincing me to work there." He chuckled.

"I've never had a work thing go that bad before. Well, I guess my dad getting shot and then having my supervisor ask me to leave…. But even that wasn't as bad." Yurei said.

"At least it sounds like it went better than last weekend at H.T.S. for me." Katsuki said.

"At least that didn't fuck with your career, though. Orion is well connected. Their opinion of me matters, and now they think that I can't work well with other people. Their entire work system is based on heroes partnering up for missions." Yurei said.

"You still have H.T.S. to fall back on." Katsuki pointed out.

"Yeah, I know, and they're my current plan. I just want to see what other companies are like. I've only ever looked at H.T.S. for my future." Yurei explained.

"So why are you looking at other places now? You hate me that much?" Katsuki asked.

"As much as you annoy the living hell out of me sometimes," Yurei said, and paused when he laughed, and had to stifle his laughter again. "It was watching my dad almost die, and seeing Tomo like that. A lot of people I know died. Everything just went to shit so fast, and then today… those things… I've never felt anything so sad before. The reason why those things went after me is because I dulled their pain for a minute, and they wanted me to make it stop. They just didn't want to be in pain anymore."

She wiped the excess tears from her cheek, and blushed when her stomach made a whining sound again.

"I know the feeling." Katsuki said softly.

"I know." Yurei replied, and got up, going over to the kitchen. "So, how are you holding up at your parents? Do you like being around them?"

He chuckled. "No, I hate it here. My mom yells and my dad cowers. Sometimes my dad leaves when they have a fight."

"That must have been hard to grow up with." Yurei commented as she searched the kitchen, and shivered from the cold draft. She turned on the light, so that she could see better, and kept the phone against her ear.

"What's it like with your parents?" Katsuki asked.

"Overall, not too bad, but my mom gets a bit… overloaded, sometimes, with her emotions quirk. Since Ikari attacked me, I've been a bit too much for her. She tries to be understanding and kind, but there are some things that she just draws the line, and won't sympathize with. It's been… sad, I guess. We used to get along better. Then my dad has always been obsessed with work. He tries to relax when he gets home, but sometimes he can't. He didn't want me to be disillusioned to the world, so he told me a lot of things about his job when I was little." Yurei explained.

"Like sex trafficking and shit?" Katsuki asked.

"Yeah. My mom was adamant about teaching me about sex when I was young, so that I could teach other kids and help keep my peers safe. My dad explained that this was also good, because sex and consent education decreases the demand for sex trafficking, among other things." Yurei explained.

"That's really messed up." Katsuki said.

"Yeah, but I grew up with parents who love and respect each other. People might not agree with their tactics, and I was teased for it sometimes, but I grew up in a loving household. I've also helped a lot of people because of how I was raised, including you, when that one girl drugged you." Yurei defended.

"Still. Telling a kid about rape and sex is pretty messed up." Katsuki said.

"It's how you go about it that matters. It's ignorance that gets people raped in the first place, a lot of the time." Yurei said. Not that it helped with Ikari.

Katsuki didn't seem to have a good response for that.

"Sorry. It's been a long day. I'm working at Orion again tomorrow night, and then taking a bus to the hotel." Yurei said.

"You're spreading yourself too thin." Katsuki told her.

"We'll see." Yurei said.

"Did you do an internship at your old school last term?" Katsuki asked.

"No. I'm pretty sure the only reason why I got the H.T.S. one is because of you. They like flashy quirks."

"My quirk definitely isn't dull." Katsuki said, and she had no doubt that he was smirking confidently. Cocky asshole.

"What about you? Have you done an internship before?" Yurei asked.

"Yeah, I worked with The Jeanist. Fucking nutjob. It was terrible. He kept lecturing me about presentation, combing my hair, and shoving me in jeans." Katsuki said.

"Holtz mentioned that. That's the reason he didn't really want you before. He thinks that if we work together, I can reign you in." Yurei said, and he scoffed.

"As if you could control me." Katsuki said.

"Why do you work so well with me, by the way? Everyone I've talked to says that you're a monster when you work with people. You usually stomp off and do your own thing." Yurei asked.

He paused. While she waited, she came across some leftover stirfry in the fridge, and pulled it out.

"Your quirk helps me beat up more people, and you're not dumb. Everyone else I've been paired with was an idiot with a weak quirk or didn't know how to fucking use it. You're also just as sadistic as I am." Katsuki said.

"Sadistic?" Yurei asked.

"You like to see people suffer. You're not scared of seeing me beat the shit out of someone that deserves it." Katsuki said, and she pondered his words as she took some of the leftovers from the container onto a plate.

Yurei had never been described as a sadist before. Most people use glorifying words for her, and put her on a pedestal. She was 'kind', empathetic, sweet, beautiful, powerful….

"You think I'm smart?" She asked with a smile.

"Fuck off." He said, and she chuckled, trying to keep her voice low. "Anyway, I hated working with The Jeanist, and it sounds like he shit talked me to other potential employers."

"It doesn't help that you're only publicly seen blowing people up, threatening to murder them, or smiling at me while I poke your nose."

"Hn." He grunted.

"After tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if Holtz only thinks that I work well with you because I'm an asshole, too. I guess we both have image crap to work on." Yurei said.

"It's not going to get better for you if you keep working with me." Katsuki warned.

"That's okay. I'd rather work with you than Hana, Tenya, or Mineta. I can't believe Orion offered them internships there." Yurei said, and shoved some food into her mouth.

"They have Mineta, too? Geez, you really did fuck up."

3.

March 2nd, Friday, 5:00 PM

Yurei yawned as she walked down one of the hallways of Orion HQ.

She talked with Katsuki until four in the morning, and then her mom was being passive aggressive, so she was loud as she cleaned at nine. Yurei didn't get much sleep.

She was instructed to go to room 202.

As she got to the open room, she peered inside, and was surprised to see that it was full of guys a little younger than her. The teacher was at the front of the room, looking to be in his mid thirties; he looked tired, too, with a scruffy beard and bloodshot eyes. His hair was short and stuck up in random directions.

"Kasai?" He asked, and she nodded. "My name is Riku. I'm not sure why, but you're going to be sitting in on this class. This is a class to teach youth about non-lethal ways to protect themselves."

"Isn't this supposed to be a guys only class?" One of them asked as they raised their hand.

"... normally, yes." Riku said.

"Oh, shit! She's that student from UA that fought with Bakugou!" One of them exclaimed, and they all started to gasp and gossip in recognition.

"This class usually has children of heroes, since they're sometimes targeted by villains." Riku added, and Yurei nodded. "Have a seat over there."

4.

March 3rd, Saturday, 1:00 AM

Yurei let out another tired sigh when she finally got to her hotel room that night. She used her card to get inside, and quickly went to bed.

5.

March 3rd, Saturday, 6:00 AM

Yurei awoke with a start, from banging on her door.

No, fuck no.

She groaned as she got up, and poked her head out the door, finding that Katsuki was dressed in workout clothes.

"You're not skipping out on training just because you got another internship. We're going to the gym at H.T.S." Katsuki told her.

"But tired." Yurei muttered with a pout.

"Take a quick shower, and get dressed. We'll grab coffee and a quick breakfast on our way there." Katsuki told her.

"I hate you." Yurei whined, and he rolled his eyes.

6.

March 3rd, Saturday, 7:20 PM

As they made their way back to the hotel with bags of food that evening, Yurei yawned into her hand for the umpteenth time. On their way to their rooms, Katsuki randomly stopped in the hallway, and she stopped to look at him.

"What?" Yurei asked.

"There's a pool." He said.

"So?" Yurei asked.

"I might go for a swim tonight." Katsuki said.

"... alright." Yurei said, and yawned again.

"You should come. Extra training." Katsuki said.

"I can't swim, and after I eat food, I'm going to bed."

"Who the hell doesn't know how to swim?" Katsuki asked.

"... I watched Jaws when I was little, and when my dad tried to teach me, I freaked out. I haven't tried it since." She shrugged.

"That's stupid. You're stupid. You're learning how to swim." Katsuki told her, and her shoulders slumped as she let out a moan of displeasure. His eyebrows rose slightly, giving her an incredulous look.

He just wants me dead, doesn't he?

"Human traffickers come in on the coast all the time. You'll need to learn it." Katsuki argued as they walked back to their hotel rooms.

"I can phase through water like anything else. I don't need to learn." Yurei argued.

"Nope." Katsuki said, having already made the decision for her. He was determined to make sure that she regretted taking on that second internship.

7.

March 3rd, Saturday, 8:00 PM

The damp air was warm against her exposed flesh.

She felt awkward, ugly, and exhausted, as she stood in the pool room, pouting at the pool. Her thin hands gripped her bare arms, the blue, one piece bathing suit was old and unflattering to her body type, and knees were slightly buckled at an awkward angle. Her legs were also hairy, having had no reason to shave before this, and were bruised like the rest of her.

"Nnnnng…" Yurei moaned in displeasure, glaring at the blue water before her. Just because they were the only ones there, didn't mean that she didn't feel self conscious or wasn't terrified of swimming. She wasn't scared of fish, obviously, but… drowning was a possibility.

There was movement behind her, and her legs were sweeped out from under her, causing her to let out a shriek. Everything moved around her, and her heart leaped to her throat as they moved into the air.

She barely pinched her nose in time and shut her eyes.

As she submerged, the warm water encased her, and she thought back to all the bathtub adventures she'd had as a child.

Air.

She kicked from the bottom, launching into the air, but then fell back in. It was too deep for her to touch the bottom and keep her head exposed, so she floundered and thrashed, keeping one hand on her nose, and her lungs started to burn.

Then, a pair of hands gripped her sides and pulled her up to the surface, allowing her to breathe. He was solid against her, his hands firm on her hips, keeping her from submerging again.

Her hands gripped Katsuki's shoulders as she took in air, grateful for the wonderful substance. His hair was slicked back, and through her gasps for air, she could have sworn that she saw him smirk. Those sadistic red eyes gleamed with amusement, taking in her every movement, every quiver and gasp with rapt attention.

"You're terrible at this." Katsuki told her, and she slapped water at his face.

"Fuck off! I told you that I can't swim!" Yurei shouted, and looked down, finding that his feet met the bottom.

She was short.

Being distracted by not wanting to drift off and drown, she gripped him tightly and stayed pressed against him, making another whining sound. They trained so often together that the proximity didn't bother her, but his tactics did.

"Can we go to the shallow end?" Yurei asked.

"You're not going to learn how to swim in the shallow end." He tried to argue.

"Well I refuse to learn it in the deep end." Yurei said. Just because she didn't know how to swim herself, didn't mean that she hadn't watched others do it. People started in the shallow end.

"You're such a fucking wimp. I learned how to swim by being thrown into the deep end at six years old." Katsuki argued.

"Well I'm not you, asshole."

"You're weaker than six year old me?"

"If you were six years old right now I would kick your stupid ass, you sadistic asshole, now take me to the fucking shallow end."

"That's quite the mouth on you." Katsuki commented as he walked, moving to a shallower part of the pool. Once she was able to stand on her own, she felt much better, and relaxed in his arms.

"Let's start with an easy one: floating." Katsuki suggested.

Yurei made another whining sound, her shoulders falling again. She was tired and wanted to sleep.

"Stop making that face. All you have to do is float on your back." Katsuki said.

She didn't want to.

"Pretend like you're at your hotel room, on your bed, lying on your back." Katsuki suggested.

"Why do I have to pretend that when it's within my power to go there?" Yurei asked.

"Because shut up and do it." Katsuki snapped.

Yurei made another whining sound, and then screamed again when he reached down, to the back of her legs, and picked her up again.

She didn't like being arbitrarily picked up… but, if she wasn't so tired, she probably would enjoy the manhandling just a tiny bit. His near constant training made his movements smooth and controlled; he knew how to move a person without causing them pain in the process, and being pressed against his well sculpted torso wasn't the worst thing in the world.

At that moment, though, she couldn't enjoy how nice he felt, because she just wanted to sleep.

"Flatten your body." Katsuki instructed.

"But I'll sink." Yurei told him.

"I'll keep my hands under you to make sure you don't sink. After you float, we'll go to bed." Katsuki said.

"I don't believe you." Yurei said.

"Just do it." He said with a roll of his eyes.

She made another whining sound as she reclined back, inching back, and felt incredibly awkward as Katsuki watched her. He had the same intense look he used when they were lifting weights or using other equipment; ready to grab a falling weight, or flying part because of her quirk, in case she fucked up. As horrendously irritating and annoying as he was, he always made sure she was safe.

Yurei focused on the ceiling, making annoyed sounds along the way, and didn't want to fully extend. She didn't want to sink.

"Keep going." Katsuki said.

"I'm going to sink." Yurei said.

"Not if you stay solid. I've got you." Katsuki said, but her body jerked slightly, and she sat up again, going back to his chest.

She glared at him.

He rolled his eyes.

His arms were holding her up, and Yurei tried not to think about how awkward this situation was.

"Fine. Leave." Katsuki said, and then dropped her. She barely pinched her nose in time. Yurei hastily made her way out of the pool, and was about to leave, when she noticed that he was walking over to another portion of the room that she'd missed.

… a hot tub.

… she liked hot tubs….

"I thought you were leaving?" Katsuki asked with a shit eating smirk. His hands went to his hips, showing off his muscular build, and she debated her options.

Go and sleep.

2. Sit in a hot tub with a really annoying attractive guy.

He had abs for days and a remarkably chiseled chest. The lighting was particularly flattering to him, and she rarely saw him shirtless. She fought herself to not oggle him in her tired state.

Bathing suits look so much better on him than on me. She thought in annoyance.

"If I go in the hot tub, I might fall asleep." Yurei said.

"Then go to bed." Katsuki said simply.

She made another whining sound, and grabbed her towel.

Before she could start to dry herself off, Katsuki scoffed by the hot water, and she glanced over, sensing some anxiety from him. He was staring at her, and when she looked up, catching him, he tried to look away, acting like he hadn't been staring.

does he just not want to be alone? She wondered.

"Are you okay?" Yurei asked him.

"Yeah. You're the one that's a skinny board that looks like she'll fall over from a slight breeze." Katsuki snapped.

Her shoulders fell slightly, and she looked over at her phone, realizing that she'd missed a call from Mina.

… Katsuki still hadn't gotten into the hot water. He wants me to join him.

"Are we training in the morning?" Yurei asked.

"I don't train on Sundays." Katsuki replied.

So I'll be able to sleep in.

She grunted, grabbing her phone, and walked over to the hot tub. He seemed relieved by her decision to stay, but didn't noticeably react. Without her quirk, she likely wouldn't have caught it.

She slid into the hot water, her skin prickling from the sensation, and then called Mina back. The hot water melted her sore muscles and she struggled to not fall asleep, her eyelids threatening to shut.

"Yureeiiii! It's been foreeeeveeeer!" Mina screamed.

"I know. How are you holding up?" Yurei asked, opening her eyes and shaking her head awake. Katsuki rolled his eyes and stretched out across from her, extending his legs and stretching his arms on the walking area behind him. As he stretched, he seemed to relax, and yawned into his hand.

"Bored! I can't wait to go back to the dorms tomorrow! I wish Monday classes had been canceled too, but you know, whatever. What are you doing?" Mina spoke excitedly.

"I'm at a pool with Katsuki. He failed to teach me how to swim and now we're in the hot tub." Yurei said.

"I tried to teach you and you wouldn't listen, asshole! I had to carry you the entire fucking time, loser!" Katsuki snapped at her.

"You two are at a pool together!? Have you done pool sex yet!?" Mina screamed, and Yurei caught a blush on Katsuki's cheeks.

"We're not a couple, Mina." Yurei reminded her.

"Are you two alone at the pool right now?" Mina asked.

"Yeah."

"Then you're a couple and by rules of society, you need to do it."

"So if you were here with Mineta,"

"AAAH NO! It only applies to attractive people!" Mina said.

"So if Katsuki and Eijirou were here and alone,"

"Oh my god I want that to happen." Mina interrupted, and she could practically hear the drool. "Eijirou could probably give good blow jobs. He has a big mouth and a talented tongue."

Yurei glanced at Katsuki, finding his face completely red and eyes wide in alarm. He looked mortified.

"She's kidding, Katsuki. Relax." Yurei told him. He refused to meet her stare, looking away and quietly steaming. She'd never seen him blush so hard before. He looked like a blond tomato.

"I'll bet Katsuki would be a bottom. Eijirou is so gentle, but he can be a little rough at the right times." Mina said.

I have a good comeback now, if he tries to make fun of me for not wanting to work out in the middle of the day.

"You and Kyoka would also be a good pairing. Oh my gosh, you and Momo would be so hot."

Katsuki gave her the deadliest of death glares, clearly unamused. Why would me being intimate with someone else bother you, hmm?

"Let's talk about something else." Yurei suggested.

"No, this is fun. What if it was you and Denki, but Denki with Mezo's personality?" Mina suggested.

Katsuki looked ready to break her phone.

"I'll call you tomorrow, Mina. Night."

"Aaaw."

Yurei hung up.

Katsuki was still sending her a deathglare.

"... sorry. That wasn't appropriate for her to say... I think she's just extra wound up from not being with Eijirou for a few days." Yurei explained, but his glare was unrelenting.

"I apologized, Katsuki. What more do you want?" Yurei asked.

He turned away, still glaring, and seemed upset. She yawned into her hand, mouth stretching wide and almost cracking her lips.

"We should get some sleep." Katsuki said, and got out. He stalked away, his shoulders bunched up and muttering under his breath. If they hadn't just been in the water, his hands would probably be sparking.

Damn it, Mina.

7.

March 4th, Sunday, 9:20 PM

There was a party at their dorm the following night.

Katsuki was tense as he sat in his spot, quietly sipping his beer and watching the people around him. He realized that, if he wanted to work at H.T.S., he needed to adapt. He needed to calm down around people doing sexual things. They were stupid and gross, but he needed to desensitize himself.

So when people made out, he didn't say anything. Guys making a gross comment about pounding pussies? Ignore it. A couple running off somewhere to fuck? Ignored.

He wanted to throttle everyone. His head was bouncing with words and phrases that made him want to vomit, but it's something that he had to do. He needed to get used to this. Adapt.

One of his hands was discretely against the side of his leg, out of view, in a clenched fist.

As he sat there, minding his own business, someone straddled his waist. They sat on his lap, and started to started to move their hips over his own. He looked up into Momo's face, and saw anger in her eyes.

The fuck did I do to her? He wondered.

She arched into him, rolling her hips. Her cleavage was in full view, the hem of her shirt falling, and the sparkles on her skin glittered in the faint light. The speakers were blasting a shitty pop song about blowing someone. There was a hickey on her right breast, and he noticed that she angled herself in a way that brought that spot closer, as if wanting him to bite her there, too.

Momo kept moving, writhing out of tune with the music, flipping her long hair on occasion and giving him a sultry look.

I guess this isn't terrible. Katsuki thought, and took another sip of his drink as she danced on him. So long as she didn't try to touch his junk too much, he didn't care. He felt more in control than last time, ready to shove her off if she did something he disliked. There was no pressure from a boss or person of authority nearby to further stress him out or make him feel he had to do one thing or another.

Once the song was over, she smirked down at him, and kissed him on the lips. Then, she got up, and walked off. Her hips swayed, going over to the dining room, and Katsuki noticed another pair of angry eyes on him. Shouto was glaring at him, looking ready to murder him, and Katsuki found himself wishing for him to attack. Anything to kill his boredom of watching drunk idiots being sexual to each other.

Please attack me. I'm bored. Katsuki silently pleaded, but Shouto held restraint. His brown and blue eyes stayed focused on him, his muscles tense and hands clenched into fists. As his angry gaze turned away, Katsuki found himself disappointed, tempted to go over and initiate the fight.

"Spin the bottle!" Someone announced, and a group around him started to form, interrupting his fantasy of killing Shouto. They gathered fast, rushing to get the game started, for whatever reason. Katsuki rolled his eyes, staying in his corner, and reached for his water.

"First up, is…" Denki spoke in an announcer's voice, and spun a bottle on the table. "Hana! And she will go with…."

The bottle spun again, and this time, the top pointed close to Katsuki. He froze midsip, feeling everyone's gaze on him at once.

"Damn it! Why are you even here? You don't like girls!" Denki yelled at him in frustration.

"Fuck off." Katsuki glared, and chugged the laster of his water.

"Come on." Hana said as she got closer, and touched his hand.

"Why?" Katsuki asked.

"It's part of the game. You go in the closet with her for 7 minutes." Denki said.

"To do what?" Katsuki asked.

"God, you're hopeless!" Denki yelled.

"I'll show you." Hana assured with a wink. She took his hand and helped him stand, and guided him over to a closet.

8.

March 4th, Sunday, 9:30 PM

Yurei wandered over to the lounge area, slowly sipping her drink, and noticed that there was a game going on. Denki was sitting on the floor at the short table, between several others. Most of the group was on the couch or leaning against someone.

"What game are you playing?" Yurei asked as she came over.

"We're playing truth or dare until Katsuki and Hana get out of the closet." Denki answered sourly, and Yurei tensed.

"Katsuki played 7 minutes in heaven?" Yurei asked.

"He happened to be here, and of course, it landed on him." Denki said.

Will he be ok? Hopefully he hasn't drank too much.

"You want to join us? They're almost done, so we'll get to play another round." Denki asked, seeming to cheer up.

She looked around at the group, taking in the situation before giving an answer. Shouto and Momo seemed angry. Mezo was checking his phone. Hanta was talking to a girl she didn't recognize, and there were a few average looking guys she didn't know.

The girl talking to Hanta was pretty cute. There was another awkward girl next to her that was also cute.

"Sure, why not?" Yurei said, and sat on the floor next to him. Denki was ridiculously excited by her response, grinning like an idiot and nearly falling over in excitement. But then, he looked up at something, and she glanced over as well, surprised to see Katsuki standing there with Hana on his arm.

He looked bored, and seemed mostly calm. Hana's lip gloss shined all over his face, neck, and parts of his shirt.

There was a dark spot on Hana's neck, which looked like a hicky.

Yurei tensed.

I thought you hated anything sex related? Have you been lying to me this entire time? Just like Ikari? Have I been misreading you?

A pang of hurt and betrayal stabbed into her chest, but she tried not to let it show.

"Let's go another round!" Denki exclaimed, and got up to spin the bottle. After a few spins, it landed on Yurei, and instantly, the guys became more interested in the game.

He spun again, and after the initial fast momentum, slowed down to land on Shouto. Instantly, Momo's cheeks went red, her eyes wide in surprise. She crossed her arms over her chest and sent a glare at Yurei.

Damn it. Yurei thought bitterly, and moved to stand, not wanting to get in the middle of their drama.

"What does that mean?" Katsuki asked.

"Yurei and Shouto go into the closet together." Denki said as he tried not to cry.

"Why?" Katsuki asked, and she started to feel him panic.

"It's just a closet. Relax." Yurei said, and nodded with Shouto to the closet.

Katsuki's hands balled up into fists. … she wasn't sure what to make of that.

Shouto and Yurei went into the closet together, and as the door slowly closed, there was an awkward pause. They were left in darkness, hearing the muffled sounds of laughter and music from outside, and didn't touch.

"So you and Momo?" Yurei asked.

He was still angry, and sensing that made her uneasy.

"... your emotions quirk?" Shouto asked.

"Yeah." Yurei replied.

"... we had a fight. Now she's dancing on all the guys she can. She was practically fucking Bakugou before." Shouto said, and she felt another surge of pain again.

"Do you know what the hell Katsuki's problem is? He usually despises everything sexual but apparently he's getting lap dances from Momo and fucking Hana in a closet." Yurei snapped.

"Do you like him?" Shouto asked.

"I have to work with him, and I don't want to get fucked over again. I don't want to be lied to again." Yurei said.

Her heart pounded against her chest, and heat rushed to her cheeks. She felt like she was going to cry, and she hated that feeling.

"I just don't want to be lied to, and have to watch my back constantly." Yurei said.

"I wouldn't exactly classify Katsuki as the most forthcoming person. He's a dick." Shouto said, and she laughed.

Maybe she'd been putting too much faith in Katsuki… too much trust. Beating up Ikari had made her feel close to him, more than it should have, and all of the training had started building up some sexual tension.

Before she could dwell more on Katsuki, Shouto leaned in, kissing her. Gently at first, but then he pushed her against the wall. His hands were soft, gentle, and exploratory, not pushing her in any way. He was warm against her, his touch sending sparks along her skin. He licked along her lower lip, his hands gingerly roaming along her sides, staying above her shirt.

She reached up to his hair, caressing the soft strands, and opened her mouth to let him in. He felt so good against her, so warm, soft, gentle, and she leaned in to his touch.

9.

March 4th, Sunday, 9:40 PM

As soon as Shouto came out, Katsuki punched him in the face.

He fell to the ground, and Yurei rushed to stand in front of him, staring Katsuki down with a cool expression. It wasn't her hero look, when she became serious and professional on the field, but an authoritative one nonetheless.

Not a hint of fear in those angry eyes. Even though she was several inches shorter than him, and physically significantly weaker, she didn't seem to know that.

"Why did you hit him?" Yurei asked him with swollen lips, and his attention was momentarily caught by them. "If it's because of me, then knock it off. I can do whatever I want with other people, and you don't get a say." Yurei told him, and he felt like he'd had the wind knocked out of him.

"So what, you're fucking Half Head now?" Katsuki asked.

"No, but if I do fuck anyone, you don't have a say. You're my work partner, not my boyfriend." Yurei said.

Tingles spread across his chest and neck, like a million needles stabbing him at once. Fear and anger rose in him like bile, and he struggled to hold back his fists, to not blow her the fuck up with his sparking hands.

He kept looking at her swollen lips.

Then, someone pushed Yurei out of the way, shoving her to the ground, and tried to land a punch on him. Katsuki was grateful to whatever god was out there for the opportunity to vent some of his rage into Shouto's face.

He grabbed his shirt and punched him in the face, hard. Blood and saliva spilled from his mouth, and Katsuki kept him up, so that he could hit him again.

10.

March 5th, Monday, 5:55 AM

The next morning, at their usual training time, Katsuki was surprised to find Yurei in the lounge. She was drinking coffee and looked showered, with her blue and yellow hair braided back and face devoid of makeup. Her hazel eyes were on her phone in her hand, looking tense and more awake than usual.

When she looked up at him, her gaze hardened into a glare.

"What?" Katsuki asked, and felt pain in his jaw. Shouto had gotten a lucky hit in last night.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? What is going on in that thick skull of yours?" Yurei snapped.

"What are you yapping about?" Katsuki asked.

"Your fight with Shouto last night. You beat the shit out of him for kissing me." Yurei said.

"I beat him because I felt like it. Nothing to do with you." Katsuki shrugged.

"You just randomly felt like beating up Shouto right after we made out?" Yurei asked, and he tensed, remembering how her lips looked. He despised that Shouto touched her, and he wanted to find and beat the shit out of him again for it.

"Why did you make out with Hana? I thought you hated kissing?" Yurei asked.

"I was trying to get used to it, for working at H.T.S." Katsuki said, and she tilted her head to the side, looking confused. "Heimi took me to a stripper place. Since I freaked out over a stupid dance, I wanted to get used to people doing that to me."

She let out an exasperated sigh, her tense shoulders falling, and moved to sit on one of the couches. She patted the spot next to her.

"Sit down." Yurei said.

"We need to train." Katsuki said.

"I'm not training with you unless I know what's going on. I can't work with you if I'm terrified of you." Yurei said, and a pang of sadness filled him. She'd never shown any usual signs of fear from his presence; anger and annoyance, sure, but never fear. That was one of the reasons he tolerated her.

He walked over to her spot, sitting down near her, and she shifted, putting her back against the armrest and coffee in her hands. Her feet nuzzled into the side of his thigh, wedging into the space between his leg and couch.

"Men are stupid. Heimi took you to the stripper bar to incentivize you into staying. If you tell him you're uncomfortable with it, he won't make you do it." Yurei said.

"That's not what he said. He said it's a required part of the job." Katsuki said.

"Being touched when you don't want to be touched is not required for working at H.T.S. You might have to get used to seeing it, but you don't have to let strangers grope you or dance on you, or anything like that. They emphasized that with me." Yurei said.

"But you're a girl." Katsuki pointed out.

"It doesn't matter. Heimi thinks you're a stereotypical guy so he's trying to encourage you to stay with sex appeal. He's probably hoping that you'll tell your friends about it, too. That's why they're so excited to have you work there: they think you'll tell all your friends at the fancy hero school that you got a lap dance, and make all the guys here want to work there, too." Yurei explained, and sipped her drink.

Katsuki thought back on last night, and what he did and didn't like about the party. He hated that Hana kept touching his crotch, but she was soft and smelled good. Momo didn't really touch him there, or grind on him, which was nice, she just wiggled a lot.

"It's okay to not be okay with sex stuff, just don't freak out when others do it consensually. If it's not consensual, then you can freak out out." Yurei added.

"How can you like it when guys do that to you?" Katsuki asked her, and shuddered at the thought of some guy dancing on him the way he'd seen other guys do to girls.

"Sometimes being touched feels nice. Not all of the time, but sometimes." Yurei said, and flashed him a smile.

He looked at the table, contemplating her words.

… he wouldn't mind if Yurei touched him, but that was it. Other people were gross.

"So can you not punch people that I voluntarily kiss?" Yurei asked, and he pondered the idea for a moment.

"No." He replied, and stood up. "You're doing extra burpees for wasting time."

11.

March 5th, Monday, 3:00 PM

Later that day, Yurei found Mirio at the park on campus, casually studying in the sun. He was sitting at a bench, alone, and smiling as he dutifully read the assigned reading and took notes.

"Cousiiiiin." Yurei whined as she came over, and sat across from him.

"Cousiiiin." Mirio mocked with a smile.

"I don't know what to do." Yurei said, and started to munch on her gummy bears.

"You think you've got problems? I accidentally phased my pants off on my way to class today. Right in front of a girl I like." Mirio said, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

"I kissed a guy last night, and Katsuki freaked. He got in a fight with him." Yurei said.

"That's not the first time, is it?" Mirio asked.

"Tenya deserved it, so I don't really count that one. This time, there was no painful boners at my fancy new dress, and Shouto was a really nice kisser. His hands were soft and he felt really nice." Yurei said, and he shuddered.

"That was much more information than I needed." Mirio said.

"I talked with Katsuki this morning, to clarify some things and stuff, and get him to not punch people who hit on me. He just said 'no' and made me do a bunch of burpees." Yurei explained.

"He seems to really like you." Mirio commented.

"His head is a mess right now, and working at H.T.S. is making it worse. I help him calm down when I can, and he seems to appreciate it... He seems to see me as a useful ally." Yurei spoke.

"Maybe dating will calm him down." Mirio suggested.

"With who?" Yurei asked.

"You."

"Me?"

He chuckled. "Yes, you. You like him."

"Do not."

"Do, too. You spend almost all of your time with him, nowadays." Mirio pointed out.

"Because of the internship and class projects. We have the same class schedule." Yurei pointed out.

"The training isn't mandatory; he's doing that because he likes you. Why else would a man his age waste time training someone else, especially a cute girl? Especially when they don't have a history of training with people out of the kindness of their heart?"

"He doesn't want to carry me through things at H.T.S. He thinks that if I train, it'll make me less likely to get knocked out." Yurei said.

"Come on, Yurei. You're the one with an emotions quirk." Mirio said.

"Maybe I don't want to like anyone." Yurei said with a shrug, and popped another bear into her mouth.

"You said Shouto is a good kisser. He seems stable. Why not try to like someone that's not as violent?" Mirio asked.

"I had a big crush on Mina when I first came here. That was a bust." Yurei said.

"Then why not spend time with girls?"

"... I guess I could try and spend more time with Ochaco and Tsu. They're cool." Yurei said, and then sighed. "But spending time with people, time I don't have, doesn't fix my problem, which is Katsuki's temper."

Mirio nodded thoughtfully.

"Is Bakugou aware of his feelings for you?" Mirio asked.

She paused.

"... he once got drunk and screamed about fucking me. I don't know if he remembers that, though." Yurei said.

"Maybe he doesn't realize that he likes you. Maybe once he acknowledges that, he can deal with his issues better." Mirio suggested.

"Katsuki? Deal with his issues?" Yurei asked with a deadpan expression.

12.

March 5th, Monday, 3:00 PM

"So you went swimming with Yurei, huh?" Eijirou said in the locker room.

"Hn." Katsuki grunted, not looking his way as he focused on his locker.

Katsuki had been weird the last few weeks, more so than usual, and Eijirou was concerned.

"You went swimming with her?" Denki and Mineta asked in unison.

"The idiot didn't know how to swim. She sinks like a goddamn rock." Katsuki replied as he changed.

"What does she look like in a bikini?" Mineta asked with a weird face, and eyes went wide as Katsuki turned abruptly in his direction. Katsuki kicked him in the face, hard, sending Mineta falling to the ground with a bloody nose.

"Do you see her as a sister, or something? Or do you like her?" Eijirou asked Katsuki, trying to give him an out.

"She's annoying." Katsuki replied, either ignoring or ignorant of Eijirou's attempt.

"Then why'd you beat up Shouto for kissing her?" Eijirou asked, and watched him tense.

"I beat him up because I felt like it. He was glaring at me earlier that night, waiting for me to pick a fight." Katsuki explained.

"And you chose to beat him up just after he kissed Yurei." Denki said, and jumped from Katsuki stomping onto his foot. "Stop doing that!"

"You at least realize that you like her, right Katsuki?" Eijirou asked him.

He glared at Eijirou, and Eijirou held his gaze. The hardening quirk user remained unmoved, his shirt in his hands as he calmly waited, observing his comrade react to his questions. Katsuki was angry, which wasn't unusual, but he seemed extra… raw, lately? Unstable?

"You're so mean to her, too. I don't get why she puts up with your ass." Denki said, and got his foot stomped on again. He screamed in pain, following up with a string of curses. Eijirou found it hard to feel sympathy for him when he easily could have dodged or kept his mouth shut.

Katsuki went outside, and Eijirou followed him, pulling his shirt over his head and tugging it down as they walked out the door. He followed him over to the weight lifting station, and watched the explosive blond as he got set up. They commonly spotted each other, so Eijirou was able to stay close and observe.

"You don't have to talk about it, I just want to make sure you're aware, so you don't accidentally lash out and kill someone." Eijirou told him.

"I don't like her." Katsuki said.

"That's bullshit, and you know it. Whether it's as a friend, something more, or something else… you two have something." Eijirou told him.

"Fuck off." Katsuki said, and Eijirou rolled his eyes.

"Come on, like I said, you don't have to talk about with me, I just want to make sure that you know." Eijirou told him.

"Fuck off." Katsuki repeated, and once his weights were set, he laid down. Eijirou got ready to spot him.

He lifted the bar off the hooks, bringing it closer to his chest, and Eijirou added his own weight, keeping him from lifting it up.

Katsuki glared at him, straining under the added weight, and Eijirou returned the stubborn glare.

"Yurei doesn't deserve to have another shit head knock her around." Eijirou said.

"It sounds like you like her a lot more than I do." Katsuki countered.

"Well, I've danced with her more times than you have." Eijirou said with a smirk, then his eyes widened in alarm as Katsuki pushed up against him. Eijirou tried to add more weight, but Katsuki was miraculously able to push him off, and put the weight back on its hooks. "Damn, Katsuki."

"Are you the one that has a crush on her?" Katsuki asked, rounding on him. He stood and stalked towards Eijirou with a murderous look in his eye.

"She's a friend, and she's a good person. I'm not the one getting violent over the mere mention of her. Everytime another guy comments on her being attractive, you hurt them." Eijirou told him.

"I don't like guys doing shit to her."

"Why?" Eijirou persisted.

Katsuki's hands sparked. Eijirou had his hardening quirk ready.

"Because they're gross." Katsuki replied.

"Do you care when Mina and I are together?" Eijirou asked.

"No."

"Do you care when Denki makes out with girls?"

"No."

"Then why do you care if it involves Yurei?" Eijirou asked.

"... I don't." Katsuki said, and averted his gaze.

"That's bullshit. You just said-" Eijirou said, and activated his quirk as Katsuki lunged. He carelessly left his midsection exposed, so Eijirou punched him in the gut, and threw him to the ground.

His red eyes narrowed into slits, and he moved to his feet again. This time, he went back to the locker room.

"We're not done, Katsuki." Eijirou said as he followed him, and the guys of their group were shoved as Katsuki went back to his locker. "What the hell is your problem? Why can't you just accept that you like her? What the hell happened to you in the past to make you so fucking messed up, or are you just that stupid and dense?"

Katsuki roughly grabbed his bag from his locker, and then slammed it shut.

"Answer me!" Eijirou shouted at him, and grabbed his shoulder, causing him to turn and face him.

Eijirou froze when he saw the tears, not expecting them. Watery red eyes bore into his own, his cheeks getting pink, and lips pulled back in a grimace.

He pushed him back, sending Eijirou stumbling back, and left.

12.

March 5th, Monday, 3:30 PM

Yurei stood outside Katsuki's room, wondering what she'd find once he opened that door. Eijirou had texted her. Apparently they had a fight at the gym, and Katsuki was pretty upset.

She knocked on the door.

"Eijirou told me what happened. Can I help?" Yurei asked.

"... fuck off." He replied.

Hearing her voice seemed to make him feel better, based on her emotions quirk.

"What's going on? How can I help?" Yurei asked.

"Just leave me alone, Blue Hair Girl." Katsuki replied.

He refused to ever call her by her name.

"Do you want me to use my quirk on you, or will you be okay? We could go get food. We could go to the ramen place down the street, or the sushi buffet…. We don't have to talk about what happened. We can talk about how shitty I am at swimming, or whatever." Yurei suggested.

She heard walking.

The door opened abruptly, and those familiar red eyes glared at her. His cheeks were a little red.

"You're garbage at swimming. You're a fucking rock." Katsuki said, and wiped his eyes before closing the door.

"Yep."

"I've never seen anyone so shitty at swimming." Katsuki said.

"Yep." Yurei said, and walked with him over to the buffet.

"You also look terrible in your swimsuit."

"I look fucking gorgeous in my swimsuit, fuck you."

13.

March 6th, Tuesday, 12:30 AM

Late that night, after working at Orion for seven hours, she glided into the dorms, too tired to use the doors.

Katsuki had been right.

Orion had been a mistake.

14.

March 6th, Tuesday, 5:50 AM

Yurei yawned as she sat on the edge of the lobby. They were doing training class in the large, multi-terrain building.

She sipped her coffee, barely awake, and barely registered that Mina was talking to her.

"Yurei, Yurei, Yurei, Yurei," Mina kept chanting, and knelt behind her, wrapping her arms around her.

"I'm tired, go away." Yurei whined.

"What happened with Katsuki yesterday? Eijirou is concerned." Mina asked.

"I took Katsuki out to food. He said I was ugly and a shit swimmer. Seemed to cheer him up." Yurei said, and took another sip of her warm drink.

"What is going on with you two? What's going on with Katsuki?" Mina asked.

"Who knows." Yurei shrugged.

Another sip.

"How'd your internship last night go?" Mina asked.

Yurei groaned.

"I got paired up with a big girl that yells a lot. She took me out patrolling. She was mean." Yurei said.

"How mean?" Mina asked.

She called me a harlot that makes false rape accusations.

"Pretty mean. Meaner than Katsuki." Yurei said.

"Meaner than Katsuki? Is that even possible?" Mina asked.

"I just wanna sleep." Yurei said.

"Come together, class!" All Might announced, and Yurei groaned. "We're doing a group race today! Each of you will be split into two groups, and then everyone will be assigned a different section of the race. Everyone line up and pick a piece of paper from this hat."

Yurei was tempted to go back to her room to sleep. She already had extra credit in this class.

Despite wanting to leave, she got up, and picked one of the pieces of paper. She stood there, staring at it for a while, and waited for it to stop being blurry.

"Swimming? Really?" Katsuki laughed next to her, his eyes gleaming in sadistic entertainment. "Bet you wish that you had paid attention the other day."

Yurei yawned tiredly into her hand.

"What team are you on, Yurei?" Mina asked her excitedly.

"I dunno." Yurei said, and Mina took her paper from her, and squealed happily.

"We're on the same team! What team are you on, Katsuki?" Mina asked.

"Blue team, sprinting through the city part of the terrain." Katsuki said.

"Then go meet up with your team." Mina said, and stuck her tongue out at him.

15.

March 6th, Tuesday, 6:00 AM

Katsuki glanced over at the other team, where Yurei was barely awake.

There was no way that they would win with her on their team.

When she was like this in mornings, he had to effectively drag her around and directly show her what to do and how to do it. Half the reason he yelled at her so much was because she kept going to sleep, or she would forget basic fucking things.

And, by the looks of it, no one was going to yell at her, so she was going to fall asleep.

"You paying attention, Katsuki?" Eijirou asked.

"Not really." Katsuki shrugged. "Not that it matters. Blue Hair Girl is going to fall asleep, and she can't swim, so we've got this in the bag."

"I'd still like to have a plan ready." Eijirou said.

Katsuki only half paid attention as they planned, and then separated. He would stand on the edge of the lake, and once Tsu got to him with the glowing baton, he'd sprint to the city.

Unfortunately, when he got there, he realized that Deku had the same fucking task.

As they stood a few yards apart, waiting for the event to start, Deku occasionally glanced his way and would start sweating profusely.

Nerd was scared of him. Good.

Katsuki looked over at the other side of the lake, and smirked. Yurei was literally asleep, laying on the ground and drooling. Tsu was stretching in her swimsuit, getting ready to go.

Blue Hair Girl doesn't even have a swimsuit. She's not even awake. Deku won't even get the chance to run, and that's his specialty. By the time that Yurei gets to him, if she does at all, the race will be over.

Katsuki languidly stretched as well, and heard the race start in the distance. There was no way that his team could lose, even if he took his time.

Easy win. He thought with a smirk.

A few minutes later, he saw Mina and Ochaco racing against each other. Once they got to Tsu and Yurei, Tsu immediately jumped into the water with the baton in her tongue, and Mina kicked and screamed at Yurei to wake up.

Yurei sat up, grabbed the baton….

… and glided across the water.

Katsuki's eyes widened.

His body tensed.

Tsu was barely halfway across the lake when Deku got the baton, and burst into a sprint. Meanwhile, Yurei fell back to sleep on the ground, limbs spread out in an exhausted flop.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? TSU, GO FASTER! MOVE THOSE FUCKING FROG LEGS!" Katsuki screamed at her, and glared at Yurei. "YOU SAID THAT YOU COULDN'T SWIM, YOU DICK! YOU LYING PIECE OF SHIT! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!"

Yurei blinked her eyes open at him, and then raised her hand, sticking up her middle finger.

Something smashed into the side of his head, and he realized quickly that it was the baton. "DAMN IT!" He put it in his mouth, and used his quirk to fly across the stretch of land, trying to make up for lost time.

16.

March 6th, Tuesday, 12:00 PM

After her test, Yurei yawned into her hand, and was surprised to see Katsuki waiting outside for her. She'd worked on her test until the end, unlike most other students. She was slow.

"You said you couldn't swim." Katsuki said with a glare.

"That wasn't swimming, that was using my phase quirk." Yurei said, and he narrowed his eyes more. He grunted with a grumpy glare, and she yawned tiredly, trying to not fall asleep on the spot.

"Let's get food. I'm hungry." Yurei said.

He pushed off from the wall, and started to follow her.

"How'd you do on the test?" Yurei asked.

"It was easy." Katsuki shrugged.

"Yeah. I wish that I'd spent a little more time studying. I wish that I hadn't signed up for Orion. I was paired with such a dick last night." Yurei complained.

"What happened?" Katsuki asked.

"We just did patrol stuff, but she was mean. She has friends from my old school, and she didn't have a shortage of opinions. I'm going to be a lot more selective about what internships I do in the future." Yurei explained.

"I signed up for the internship with Orion." Katsuki said, and she looked at him in surprise. "It's a lot of money, and it's less than three weeks."

"So… you're going to be my partner for the next few weeks?" Yurei asked with a smile. He avoided looking at her, his hands shoved into his pockets and messy hair keeping her from seeing his blush.

"I guess." Katsuki shrugged.

"Did you sign up so that I wouldn't be paired with losers?" Yurei asked, still smiling.

"No, it's good money."

Liar.

"Thank you." Yurei said.

"Whatever. Are you prepared for the exams next week?" Katsuki asked, and they switched over to talking about school.

17.

March 6th, Tuesday, 5:00 PM

When Yurei and Katsuki showed up to the Orion HQ that night, they were disturbed by what they were tasked to do that day.

… it was basically a party.

Dozens of professional heroes were there, dressed in their costumes, and there were also a bunch of casual people there as well. The casual people seemed to be hero tech designers.

Yurei had wondered why they were supposed to bring their costume designs. They were going to get feedback and critiques on them.

Useful, but… boring.

"What the hell did I sign up for?" Katsuki asked, and then tensed. Yurei looked at what he was looking at, and realized that he was staring at The Jeanist.

Yurei chuckled, and he sent her a glare.

18.

March 7th, Wednesday, 3:00 PM

The next day, Katsuki was hesitant as he went to the locker room.

… he and Eijirou hadn't talked since their fight.

Katsuki hoped that they could pretend that it didn't happen. As he went to his usual spot, Eijirou and the others started to show up.

They nodded to each other, but didn't say anything.

19.

March 7th, Wednesday, 4:00 PM

As Yurei was on her way back to the dorms, she got a text.

A chill ran down her spine, and she shuddered violently, nearly throwing up. She stopped on the pathway, absorbing the words, and lost her sense of the world. Everything felt ten degrees colder as the texts rushed in.

Unknown number: Happy Narwhal Day.

Unknown number: I miss u.

Unknown number: I forgive u. Please, talk 2 me.

Unknown number: please

Unknown number: i love u

Unknown number: please

Ikari got her number.

"Yureeei!" Mina yelled, tackling her in a hug from behind.

How did he get my number?

"Yurei?" Mina asked.

She kept staring at her phone.

"Who's that? New boyfriend? Is that why you won't go out with Katsuki? You have a secret boyfriend? Why would you keep this from me, Yu Yu!?" Mina screamed exaggeratedly as she hugged and tugged at her.

"You have a boyfriend, Yurei?" Eijirou asked as he came up from behind Mina, and put an arm around her.

"... no." Yurei said.

Unknown number: i forgive u. Please talk to me.

She blocked the number.

"Then who was the text from?" Mina asked.

"Ikari." Yurei said in a low voice.

Mina and Eijirou tensed.

"Yurei has a boyfriend?" Denki asked as he walked up to them. Katsuki came up as well, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I misread a text she got! My bad!" Mina said awkwardly.

"Why don't you date more? Was Tenya that bad?" Denki asked her.

"That's part of it." Yurei shrugged as she put her phone away.

"How often do you get asked out?" Mashirao asked curiously.

"Once a week, about." Yurei said.

"How many of them has Katsuki beat up?" Denki asked, sending a smirk at Katsuki. The fiery blond stomped on his foot, and Denki cried out in pain, grabbing his foot as he hopped away.

Yurei rolled her eyes, smiling despite herself, and tensed when she felt her phone vibrate again.

She might have to get another number, again.

20.

March 7th, Wednesday, 4:30 PM

"Uuuuugh, can't you just get a new phone? This guy is creepy." Mina complained on the couch. She had taken up the task of watching Yurei's phone for her. If someone important texted her, like her mom or boss, she'd hand it back to Yurei. If it was Ikari again, she'd block the number.

"If I get a new number, then I have to contact everyone on my contacts list and text them the new number, which will be a pain." Yurei replied with a book on her lap.

"Can't swim my ass." Katsuki grumbled under his breath, and she looked at him, seeing that he was glaring at his own textbook.

"You're still mad about that?" Yurei asked with a grin.

"Fucking liar." He muttered, glaring at her.

"I wasn't lying. I can phase through water just like solid matter, but I can't actually swim." Yurei assured.

"Uh-huh." Katsuki said skeptically.

"If you tell us this guy's address, Katsuki and I can go there to beat him up." Eijirou offered, having started to read over Mina's shoulder.

"That won't help, but thanks." Yurei said.

"Ikari is the guy that stabbed you, right?" Katsuki asked.

"Yeah." Yurei replied.

"He stabbed you, too?" Mina asked, and Yurei glared at her.

Do not say it outloud, Mina. Do not say it outloud.

"Anyone else still freaked from the League of Villains attack?" Eijirou asked, changing the conversation.