I hope all of you are healthy and well during these crazy times, please look after yourselves and your families. Practice caution and take care of yourselves to the upmost effort—please stay healthy! I hope none of you have been too badly affected, especially readers in more impacted states and countries, please take care.

And yes! Hahaha, Todoroki and Mei was a little tidbit from the light novel.

Happy quarantine reading!

I do not own BNHA.

Of Heroes, Blood, and Boba

Chapter Thirty

Hot Condensed Milk II

"The young man, now having helped the bleeding man return to his loved one, continued on his journey.

Past the sloping hills and the great, big valleys, he came upon a coast. The young man followed the string, letting it weave between his fingers and curve around his neck like a scarf to keep him warm. A very, very cold wind blew. He could smell the salt and see the sea.

'How big!' the young man said. 'How very, very wide. There is so much to see in this world.'

As the young man walked up the coast, marveling at the beach, he noticed a young woman standing where the ocean met the sand. With a start, he noticed the young woman crying. Many tears ran down her face.

'Miss,' the young man said. 'Are you okay?'

'I am not,' the woman said. 'I am angry. Very, very angry.'

'Why are you angry?' the young man asked.

'My best friend has gone out to sea without me,' the young woman said. 'We promised we would become the best sailors and see the world together. My sail ripped. I cannot sail, but she went out ahead.'

'Did she leave you behind?' the young man asked kindly.

'No,' the young woman said, growing angrier. She started to cry harder. 'We must sail so we can fish. The storm is bad. She goes out to make sure we will not starve. I cannot go with her.'

The young woman started to cry harder. Her tears were saltier than the ocean. 'I want to help her!'

The young man nodded in understanding. He could not imagine what he would do if his string were to go on without him. He walked to the young woman's boat, taking again his needle and threading it though his string.

'You worked hard and you want to see her,' he said. 'Gather your fishing tools. You will help her.'

Without another word, the young man set to work, fixing the young woman's boat."

- Excerpt from "The Red String of Fate: Aka Ito"

"Fu-chan! Where've you been?" Kaminari popped up from the couch, throwing his arms over the backside as he grinned at her. "Did you already finish moving in?"

"That fast?" Sero said. "I saw you run down an hour ago."

It seemed all the boys had finished unpacking, gathered leisurely by the couches. Fuyu noticed the kitchen and some cupboards seemed to have been fiddled with, meaning groceries and personal snacks were put in. I should bring down the snacks from the cafe and Gram's pickled radishes…

"Yeah," Fuyu grunted. She pocketed her kotatsu cube and rubbed the back of her neck with a heavy sigh. "Just dropping off the furniture I didn't use."

"You look beat!" Kirishima said, observing Fuyu's almost frazzled looking appearance, her fingers combing through her hair again and again to straighten out her ponytail. "Was it a bit rough for you?"

Fuyu scowled, willing the burning sensation of heat on the back of her neck and tip of her ears to die down. She waved the notion aside, along with the scarring memory of one cackling blonde and red strings. "Sort of. I'm just a little beat from the lifting."

"You should have said so," Todoroki said, coming standing behind Midoriya's armrest with Iida beside him. "I had a lot to drop off earlier. I would have gone with you."

"Nah," Fuyu grimaced, considering her company. "I don't think it would've been a great idea."

Todoroki looked put off by her words, brows furrowing together. She sighed, brows wiggling a bit as she turned the conversation back to Todoroki, "Besides, weren't you busy with Pinky from the Support department?"

Todoroki's face vaguely colored with surprise—vaguely in the sense that Todoroki as a person didn't really show surprise. His brows shifted a bit and Fuyu was getting better and better at reading it.

"Pink…" Midoriya trailed off. "Todoroki-kun, does she mean Hatsume-san?"

Fuyu met Mineta's jealous face, throwing him an okay sign. I think I'm starting to get what he meant now.

"Ehhh, Todoroki, what's that supposed to mean?" Sero teased. "Already getting a jump on this cohabitation?"

"What? No way!" Kaminari wailed, nearly leaping off the couch. Fuyu sidestepped the little buzz of electricity coming off his hair. "Todoroki—you dog! What have you been up to?"

"I'm not sure what you mean," Todoroki said in complete and utter seriousness. "I forgot her name. But she was helping me."

"Todoroki! You're abusing your good looks?"

"...she didn't help me because of my face though," Todoroki said seriously. Kaminari and Mineta bit their fingers in jealousy and he turned, watching Fuyu rub her fingers against each other. "...where did you see us?"

"Huh? Oh," Fuyu waved a hand. "Just when I was out on the veranda. They're pretty spacious—the rooms too. Don't worry, I didn't see anythin' though."

"There wasn't anything to see," Todoroki said simply. He seemed to think something over for a moment before adding, "You didn't need any help with your room?"

"Nah," Fuyu said. "I don't have as much stuff as you guys think—what about you, Roki? Sounds like you had it rough if you needed some help."

Todoroki tilted his head to the side a bit, contemplating his answer. Fuyu raised a brow before her gaze dropped too his hands, blinking in surprise at the calluses and light dirt spots. Todoroki was typically a bit more well-groomed than that—maybe he did have it rough. "What, did you have to fight someone or somethin'?"

"...in a way."

"Roki, what?"

"You didn't call for my help, mon cheri!" Aoyama said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Fuyu looked over at him. "Why, I finished quite early! Helping you would have been a breeze."

"Didn't really need it," Fuyu said.

Aoyama kept his hand on her shoulder, unable to do much else as he smiled. Fuyu gave him a small nod in affirmation, turning back to the gathered group.

"Hotshot didn't finish?" Fuyu murmured, counting heads and turning to Kirishima.

"He did," Kirishima sighed. "But he didn't want to come down with us. I think he's already hit the sack."

What a grandpa. Fuyu made a mental note of considering everyone's habitual bed times. She felt like it might say something about them. I'm usually not really loud anyway since Gramps is around to argue with... this should turn out fine, right? Living with more than a dozen other people couldn't be that difficult since they already went to school together and all...

Fuyu rubbed her fingers over her scarred knuckles, making a face.

"You know, the circumstances getting here weren't great," Kaminari said, grabbing his ankle as he rocked back with a grin. "But living together is kind of exciting, isn't it?"

Yeah, that's the kind of mindset I need to have. Fuyu pinched the taut, rough skin of her knuckles...Positive. I gotta be more positive.

"Don't do that," cool fingers wrapped around her wrist and Fuyu jolted in surprise, looking up at Todoroki beside her.

"...ya know, it's not like it wouldn't heal on its own," Fuyu muttered, but she willingly put her hands into her pockets instead. Todoroki dropped his hand, seemingly satisfied enough with that. "Don't get all squeamish on me now, Roki."

"I won't."

"You know, sometimes you're a lot like talking to a roc—"

Midoriya nodded eagerly to Kirishima's earlier words. "I never imagined being able to dorm before. A few other hero academies require it is what I heard."

"It's gonna be sick!" Kaminari said. "We can watch movies together, eat together, play video games—this is gonna be super fun!"

"Living together…" Iida said seriously, swinging a hand out. Fuyu ducked under it, surveying the couch briefly before ruling over her hesitance and taking a seat on the arm of one couch beside Tokoyami. "This is also training our bodies and helping us learn cooperation and teamwork! We will slowly come to understand each other and learn the ins and outs, down to the last bit!"

Fuyu grimaced at the thought. "Ain't that... a lot?"

"Precisely!"

"You're really going all out, aren't you, Iida?" Kirishima offered a fist. "Nice, man!"

"Hey, Yami," Fuyu said, suddenly curious. "What's your room like? I've only seen your living room."

"Woah, woah, woah!" Mineta piped up, throwing his hand into the air. "Tokoyami! You had a girl over at your house and—"

"Pitch black nothingness," Tokoyami said. Fuyu made a face. "And yours?"

"...well, it ain't much… to be honest—"

"Oh, boys~" Fuyu looked up, hands in her pockets as the rest of the girls came bounding over. Mina lead the brigade, an especially excited smile curling wide over her lips. "Are you guys all done unpacking?"

"Yup! Just finished!" Kaminari said. "Should we all break out some snacks and watch a movie?"

"This late?" Iida shouted in disbelief. Sero checked his phone.

"Dude, it's barely nine."

"That does sound great," Mina purred. Fuyu raised a brow. "But, see, the girls were thinking—"

"Hey!" Hagakure shouted. "Fu-chan, we were looking for you! Where did you go?"

"You don't wanna know," Fuyu huffed, feeling annoyed just by the memory and rubbing her ear to get Monoma's taunting laugh out of her head.

"What the hell did you even do this time?" Kendo said in disbelief, arms crossed under her chest. A handful of 1-B had gathered around her, peering over her shoulder in a half circle as Monoma was forced to kneel in the center of the common room, casually examining the dirt underneath his fingernails.

"I didn't do anything," Monoma said primly. "That delinquent from 1-A is the one who attacked me."

"What'd he do to her?" Kendo asked Awase. The other boy shrugged. "Stop pissing people off, Monoma. It really doesn't do you any favors."

"I'm not the one pissing people off. It's their fault for getting angry with me." Monoma placed his palm against his chest, grandly adding, "And for the record, that unruly mess isn't cute at all—"

"Oh, wow," Yui said, holding the small first aid box. "She really got you good, huh?"

"Guess Kouki can throw a punch."

"Or Monoma can just really take a hit."

"I don't have to sit here and take this abuse from all of you!"

Fuyu sneezed. Aoyama offered her a tissue.

"Well," Mina said with a pout. "We were thinking…you guys want to have a room presentation contest?"

"Like a slideshow?" Todoroki said. Fuyu made a face.

"We have to make a slideshow of our room?"

"No, no!" Hagakure said. "Like a best of show! But with our rooms! We'll all go around and see what everyone's rooms look like and see who has the best taste!"

Fuyu's heart threatened to climb out from her mouth and run out the door.

"We can start with Midoriya because he's only one floor up!" Mina said, clapping her hands together. Ochako perked up in excitement, nodding. Midoriya's face went ashen, mouth spluttering as the girls already started heading to the elevators.

"H-Hold on a second!" Midoriya cried, scrambling from the couch and rushing to the already opening elevator. "No! Wait! Please—"

"Yeah, hold on a second," Fuyu said quickly, sweat dribbling down the side of her brow as she stood up. "Do we really need to go do something like—"

A slender arm hooked through hers and Fuyu jumped, looking at Momo's beaming face. "Doesn't this sound fun?"

"Well, I mean, but—"

Momo continued to beam, eyes shining in excitement. Fuyu squinted against the blinding light, making a face as Momo eagerly started to drag her along toward the elevators.

I don't… Fuyu rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. Really have much to show…

Well, it wasn't like they'd really be expecting much in the first place, right? It should be fine then.

"Wait! Please! No! W-W-Wait!" Midoriya shouted, trying to make his way through the front of the crowd to block his room. "There's nothing to see—"

Mina tugged the first door open, stepping inside.

"It's an otaku's room!"

Fuyu had already seen the inside of Midoriya's home bedroom once before, but it seemed he'd tried to take everything he could from his room and refurbish it all into his dorm room here. Fuyu peered through the doorway, Todoroki looking with particular interest as well over her shoulder.

"It's all All Might!"

"Crap," Kaminari grinned nervously. "I think we just started something…"

"But it might be fun…?" Sero said.

"Everything is All Might," Jirou commented. "You really are a fan."

"I-I just… admire him…" Midoriya mumbled, steam pouring from his ears. Ochako beamed, patting his back. "T-That's all..."

"I like it," Fuyu said simply. "It says a lot about his personality."

"Hey, hey, those are dangerous words when it comes to someone's room," Mineta warned below her. "You might want to consider it when you see my—"

"I wouldn't mind a room like this," Todoroki said calmly beside her.

"Right?" Fuyu turned to him, motioning to Midoriya's sheets. "It's nice."

Mineta glared daggers at an oblivious Todoroki. Fuyu pointed to Midoriya's elaborate wall spread and Todoroki followed her, the two of them peering at the arrangement of posters.

"I didn't know they make posters like this," Fuyu said, observing Midoriya's detailed, carefully pinned poster of All Might minted with an almost holographic look to it. Todoroki nodded wordlessly beside her. "I like All Might, but looking at his room makes me feel like a fake fan."

"Please don't feel that way!" Midoriya begged, hiding his face in his hands. "I-It's really nothing! This is nothing! I'm just a small rung compared the millions of other fans who own much more than this—"

"Guys with this dedication are cute," Hagakure said, "but they can border creepy, huh? I guess it only works because it's Midoriya-kun."

"I know what you mean," Jirou said, pointing with one earjack. "If it was anyone else I'd be a little worried."

"T-Thank you?"

"To the next room!" Mina declared, Hagakure close behind as they turned to the next door down the hall. Fuyu racked her brain for the list and brightened, seeing Tokoyami standing firmly in front of his door. "Tokoyami, you're next!"

"No," Tokoyami said. "This is foolish."

"Hey, but I wanna see your room too," Fuyu said, coming to stand beside Mina and Hagakure. "Whatcha hiding, Yami?"

"Yeah," Mina teased. "Whatcha hiding Yami-kun?"

Behind them the boys looked somewhat sympathetic. Tokoyami attempted to remain firm, keeping his head lowered in almost cool nonchalance.

"Nothing," Tokoyami said. Mina and Hagakure pressed their hands against his side, slowly beginning to push. He refused to relent, clearing exerting effort to keep them at bay. Tokoyami's legs started to tremble. "Nothing—"

Fuyu swiped one foot under him. Tokoyami tumbled to the side. Fuyu's hand shot out, grabbing the edge of his shirt with a bit of a grin as her friend opened his beaked mouth at her in betrayed disbelief. Mina and Hagakure cheered in triumph, rushing and opening the door.

"Fuyu-chan, you're getting into it!" Ochako cheered.

"Not really," Fuyu said, a small smile on her lips. "I'm just a bit curious… hey, Tsuyu's not comin'?"

Ochako faltered. Her brows creased for a moment before she smiled, rubbing her arm. "Ah, well, she wasn't feeling too well so she wanted to rest."

"Oh," Fuyu frowned. "I'll visit her room later. Maybe I can help."

"That was traitorous," Tokoyami said from the ground, looking at her in utter betrayal. "I'll remember this, Kouki."

"Sometimes we have to look out for our own motives," Fuyu said seriously as she stepped over him into his room. "I'm not sorry."

Pitch darkness greeted Fuyu first. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust before she realized what she was seeing.

"It's… like the dungeon map in Tamashiro's game…" Fuyu mumbled, rubbing her chin. "...huh." She'd have to go visit the kids soon once their school sessions started up. She... wouldn't go and say she missed them, but in a way... it'd just be nice to see them was all.

"It's scary!" Hagakure cried, "Look at all this! Black! It's all dark! What the heck?"

"Get out," Tokoyami said.

"I had a keychain like this in middle school!" Kirishima said, lifting a metal sword with a ruby red center. Midoriya gaped in excitement, hands hovering in awe by a massive broadsword propped in the corner of the room. Iida adjusted his glasses, observing it with a critical eye.

"It has personality," Shoji said.

"Boys like this kind of thing, huh?" Mina said. Momo nodded in surprise, touching a hand to her mouth.

"I like the candles," Fuyu said. "Very warm."

"GET OUT!"

Polished mirrors instantly caught the sparkled glint of every object in the room. The fluorescent lights pitched off the disco ball hanging in the center of the ceiling, instantly upping the glimmer of everything else in the room tenfold. A single, proud knight stood sparkling in the corner, solemnly standing watch over the inhabitants.

The shaded sheets blended out into a twinkling periwinkle, easily matching the shimmering stretch of wall paper that followed the room and—

"My eyes hurt," Sero said, holding his hands over his eyes. "Aoyama, how do you live in this?"

"It's exactly how I thought it'd be!" Hagakure said simply. Beside her Kouda winced, covering his eyes. Midoriya gaped in disbelief while Todoroki quietly examined his nails, looking at a small spot in the corner of the room.

"It's too bright!"

"Unlivable!" Sero said.

"Non! It's not a matter of simply living—" Aoyama proudly threw his arms open to encompass the full entirety of his room. "It's a matter of existing, and existing brilliantly!"

"Aoyama," Fuyu said, eyes growing wide as she quickly did circles on her heels, taking in the entire room. "This room is really nice!"

"Fu-chan are you crazy?" Kaminari gasped. "It's terrible!"

"W-What are you talking about?" Fuyu looked up from Aoyama's twinkling collection of scarves, the owner himself standing proudly beside her, positively beaming. "Look at all this—doesn't it really say I'm here or something? There's no way you could look into the room and think, hey, nobody lives here, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Sero said. "It's way too much personality—my eyes hurt!"

"Mon cheri and I," Aoyama said grandly, "are merely...connected! On a deeper, personal level, she truly understands the full gravity of my shimmering, shining presence and—"

"It's basically exactly what I thought it'd be," Mina said, opening the door back to the hall. The rest of their classmates started to file out as well. "Let's move on to the next one!"

"This is starting to get fun!" Ochako said eagerly, practically bouncing in place. "Come on, the last person on this floor should be..."

The girls turned, silently locating the last room down the hallway.

Mineta's door slowly creaked open. The tip of one bulbous, shining purple ball peeked outwards, followed by Mineta's dark, almost shining gaze as he silently beckoned them forward with one crook of his finger.

"C...Come on... in... I'll show you something amazing..."

Fuyu glanced over from where Aoyama was pitifully gripping the corner of her tank-top, peering around the silent heads of her classmates. "What, who is it?"

"Time to go to the third floor!" Hagakure said cheerfully, grabbing onto Fuyu's collar and Aoyama's with each of her invisible hands and hauling them along with the rest of the crowd. "I can't wait to see everyone else!"

"Wait, aren't we skippin' a room—"

"Let's go!" Mina cheered, punching the elevator button open.

In a span of a few rooms—Fuyu'd started to notice something different between her and her classmates. A fair enough of a difference that was starting to make her feel more nervous than she tended to like to feel. An uncharacteristic kind of nervous she normally just scoffed at.

"You know," Ojiro started, rubbing the side of his tail as he stared at the floor. "I'm not really feeling satisfied by this whole thing..."

"Me neither," Kaminari said, slouched dejectedly against the wall. A small, sad little spark fizzled out from the corner of his head.

"I as well," Tokoyami said darkly, arms crossed in self-assurance over his chest.

"M-Me neither!" Aoyama said proudly, tapping his chest. "It feels quite as though we've been wounded in some way!"

Ojiro's room had been simple enough—simple in the literal sense of being simple. Fuyu had liked it though, since it looked the picture perfect definition of a normal room. The rest of her classmates had eagerly shuffled around the floor, quickly invading the corners of Kaminari's room—stuffed full with personality and a various collection of items that made no sense to anyone else but Kaminari himself—"I like it though," Fuyu said. "Doesn't it have a lot of personality?"

"No, no, Fu-chan, this is what having no taste is like," Mina said. "This is tacky."

"Tacky?" Kaminari had whimpered, deflating in the center of his possessions. "Isn't it kind of cool?"

"It looks like you just threw a bunch of stuff together," Jirou said.

"What are you trying to say about my personality?"

Isn't that what a room's supposed to be like? Fuyu thought, growing increasingly bothered. Iida's room had simply been a headache enough to look at—diligently and perfectly organized from bottom to top. The books were what really made her head hurt, line and line of titles that threatened to test the full extent of her kanji coupled with a collection of glasses—"It's not a collection, they're all my spares!"

Kouda's room had been right up alongside Ojiro's, simple and quaint and coupled with a small, furry friend. The girls had been quick to fawn over the rabbit while Fuyu warily remained by Todoroki and Midoriya's side, observing the animal sniff and hop around until it came dangerously close to nipping at her ankles.

"That rabbit isn't going to hurt you," Todoroki said.

"'s all cute until it bites ya, Roki."

Their group had been about to reconvene by the elevators, prepared to ascend to the next floor until Ojiro'd finally broken the silence. An air of discontent had started to settle over Fuyu's peers, starting to press on their pride.

I don't get it though? Fuyu looked nervously at the floor, tempted to pick at her scar again out of habit. All their rooms have been fine. They all reek of personality and match 'em all perfectly... if there's something to complain about when it comes to all of their rooms... did I mess up after all?

"I-It's not like this is a competition," Midoriya said, trying to placate the air. "We're just here to have fun! R-Right, everyone?"

"It's weird for the boys to be the only ones getting picked on," Mineta said loudly, strutting into the center of the group, hands in his pockets. Fuyu looked down at him, blinking. "You said this was a room presentation contest, right?"

Mineta aggressively pointed his fingers to the girls, looking scandalized, "Then, of course, we should see the girls' rooms before we decide, right? Shouldn't we decide who has the best taste in interior decoration from everyone in class?"

A brief moment of terse silence filled the air. Fuyu slowly processed Mineta's stringed up rambles, piecing it together in a way that made sense.

Everyone's gonna look at your room too.

Fuyu hacked, choking on her own spit.

"Sounds great! This will be totally fun!" Mina cheered, completely unbothered. Jirou wilted beside her, looking horrified at the thought.

"Should we wake up Bakugou and get him involved too?" Hagakure offered cheerfully. Midoriya looked a bit nervous at the thought.

"M-Maybe we should just let Kacchan sleep..."

Kirishima picked at dirt under his nails, coupled beside an uncaring Satou and silent Shoji. Todoroki stood beside them, calm and almost vaguely done with the entire situation until he glanced down at Fuyu.

"Do you really want to win?"

"I don't care about stuff like that!" Fuyu muttered, rubbing the back of her neck. "'s just... nah, it's nothing. Let's just do this."

Todoroki tipped his head to the side. "...you don't have to show your room if you're not comfortable. Bakugou isn't showing his."

"I ain't scared!" Fuyu snapped. Todoroki looked down at her, impassive as always. "You tryna start a fight, Roki?"

"No."

"Sometimes watching them kind of reminds me of something," Satou said, turning to Shoji. "You know what I mean?"

"...when small dogs bark at bigger dogs?"

"W-Woah! Yeah, man, almost exactly like that!"

"Then we'll be deciding who has the best taste in interior decoration in the class," Mina said eagerly, "or who the Room King is!"

"Room King?" Jirou said.

"We don't have to decide anything like that," Ojiro said.

Plip. Plip.

Fuyu glanced down and blinked, almost recoiling in surprise at the amount of drool dribbling past Mineta's lips. Beside her, Midoriya looked equally just as bothered, gaping at Mineta in disbelief as their classmate grinned to himself, wiping his mouth and dreamily gazing out into the distance—

Todoroki let out a quiet yawn beside her, an almost low exhale. Fuyu and Midoriya whipped around to stare at him in surprise. "Roki?"

"Todoroki-kun!"

"...what?" Todoroki said.

"Did you just yawn?" Fuyu said. "He did, right? What the hell—Roki, you do normal stuff like everyone else too, don't you?"

"...I'm tired," Todoroki said. "That's normal."

"No, no, I'm talkin' about how you're usually—"

"You just yawn bigger," Todoroki said calmly, looking down at Fuyu. He gestured to his mouth, opening it slightly. "Your teeth show and your eyes... they crinkle."

"...Roki, you're really lookin' for a beatin' aren't ya?"

"No."

"Kirishima, I don't get this room at all," Mina said ruthlessly.

"This is definitely the kind of room I wouldn't want my boyfriend to have," Hagakure added just as ruthlessly.

The walls of Kirishima's room embodied the true sense of self-empowerment. Self-written papers plastered onto his walls to remind himself of a series of rigorous workouts or coded ethics to live by. Be manly! Be tough! Small pieces of Kirishima's room still gave off a boyish sort of charm—from the stack of comics lined against one wall to the small figurines he still had doting available sections. Heavy equipment hung from the corners of his room, coupled with hefty looking dumbbells Fuyu's blood was no stranger to these days in her own training.

The room felt like Kirishima. There wasn't quite any other way to put it. In Fuyu's sense of understanding—didn't that mean he'd done exactly what he was supposed to do? There was no question the person Kirishima Eijiro lived here.

"It's manly!" Ochako said encouragingly, pumping her fists outwards. "Super manly! I feel invigorated just looking at it!"

"At least someone gets it," Kirishima said, a small tear pricking the corner of his eye from the earlier lashing he'd already received.

"Yeah, don't sweat it, Kiri," Kaminari clapped his friend over the back, Sero nodding sagely beside him. "Your room's got plenty of personality. Maybe just not... taste though, you know?"

"Like your room was better."

"It was! You guys just don't know how to appreciate—"

"My room is next, right?" Shoji said calmly, already making his way into the hall to twist his door open. The entire class curiously filed, trying to peek around Shoji's set of limbs as one of his mouths turned toward them. "Don't expect much."

"Don't expect much?" Mina exclaimed. "Don't expect anything you mean! There's nothing here!"

A wave of relief crashed hard into Fuyu, nearly toppling her sideways. Shoji's room was almost completely bare—nothing save for his futon and a kneeling desk.

"I didn't realize you were a minimalist," Todoroki said.

"Ever since I was little, I was never into owning many things," Shoji said calmly. "It's not a bad lifestyle."

"I guess this still fits Shoji-kun's image though," Hagakure said, shirt twisting in the air. "What can you do?"

Fuyu paused. Just like Shoji's...yeah, what other kind of room would you expect from him?

"Come on!" Mina cheered, "The fifth floor is next! Let's go, let's go!"

"Are you having fun, Fuyu-chan?" Fuyu almost jumped. Momo smiled politely beside her, hands lightly clasped in front of her as they walked toward the elevator. "Everyone's rooms are just bursting with personality... it makes me a bit worried for my own."

"I... I know what ya mean," Fuyu said slowly, rubbing the back of her neck. "You kinda get an image of everyone... and the kind of people they are and the rooms end up living up to it, huh?"

What did it mean if the room didn't then?

Fuyu paused a bit, feeling unsettled.

What kind of image did her classmates hold of her?

"Since when did you care?"

"What else do you have if you were to lose this?"

"Them—"

"Yes, a lot like that!" Momo said, shuffling into the elevator beside Midoriya who quickly made himself scarce, trying to flatten himself into the wall beside them. "Oh, Midoriya-san, aren't you uncomfortable like that?"

"N-N-No, I'm fine!" Midoriya said quickly, waving his hands about. Shoji and Satou didn't look convinced beside him, the five of them riding the elevator up behind the rest. "Really, thank you though, Yaoyorozu-san!"

"Even Midoriya-san's room spoke volumes about his personality," Momo said a bit thoughtfully. Midoriya flushed. "I mean that in the best way possible though, Midoriya-san. I admire All Might myself... seeing your room just reminded me of why you came with me from the hospital in the first place."

"Y-Yaoyorozu-san..." Midoriya mumbled, scratching his cheek. "I'm not... nearly as deserving... our actions put a lot of strain on people too, and you're the amazing one for knowing that best..."

Fuyu watched, almost amazed at the strange interaction unfolding in front of her. She didn't really think it was because Momo and Midoriya didn't like each other—it just always tended to seem like their spheres of interaction tended not to cross, even despite being in the same class.

Momo didn't look necessarily displeased, lightly playing with the edge of her unfurling ponytail. "...why, thank you, Midoriya-san."

The elevator dinged, opening up the hallway to the eager chatter of their classmates. Fuyu dully realized once more an interaction between the three of them had occurred in an elevator, just like at the hospital.

Huh.

Midoriya quickly gestured for them to all proceed first. Momo looked a bit amused, stepping out with Fuyu in tow and lightly mentioning, "Midoriya-san tends to act a bit quaint like this, like he wouldn't hurt a fly... but he becomes different when the situation changes, doesn't he?"

A wry smile pulled up on Fuyu's lips. She slid her hands into her pockets, rocking back a bit. "Mm, I know what you mean."

"Alright, Sero!" Mina declared, "Open up! Your room is next!"

"I get it, I get it," Sero sighed, moving past them to open up his door. "If you guys really say so..."

A confident smile twisted up Sero's lips and he proudly tugged his door open wide for all of them to see.

The soft scent of something fresh—like bamboo or eucalyptus easily seeped out from Sero's room. Fuyu blinked, rather transfixed by the entirely put-together décor—Sero's room seemed straight out of a catalogue, perfectly matching in pieces with each other and nicely complimenting even the smallest plant in the corner.

"How exotic!" Mina said, delighted. Ochako clapped her hands beside her.

"I never realized you'd be so stylish, Sero," Jirou said in awe, pointing to the neat arrangement of tapestries against his wall.

Sero's chest puffed out with pride, "Right? I guess you can call me Sero Surprise!"

"It doesn't have enough sparkle," Aoyama said beside Fuyu. "Lacking. Quite so!"

"The hammock looks comfy," Fuyu said. "I like it."

"If we'd all known ahead of time, I'm sure we all would've tried harder to make our rooms nicer..." Ojiro said.

"Come on, let's keep this going!" Mineta complained. "I'm sick of looking at the boys' rooms! We need to get to the—"

Ojiro's tail consciously swept outwards, knocking Mineta sideways and flattening him against Shoji's leg.

"Wait!" Mina said, arms shooting outwards before the next room. Hagakure and Momo nearly smacked into her outstretched arms, Fuyu and Ochako blinking behind them. "Next is... Todoroki, right?"

"Todoroki-san's room..." Momo trailed off, looking thoughtful.

"Todoroki-kun's room!" Mina squealed in excitement.

"Todoroki-kun's room..." Hagakure said nervously, shirt shifting around in what seemed to be a bit of a fluttery dance.

"Yes," Todoroki said a few feet ahead of them, standing by his door. "Hurry up and get this over with. I'm tired."

Roki's room, huh? Fuyu idly played with the end of her hair tie, bells clinking in response. A bit of curiosity bubbled up. Probably something simple. Roki isn't even that crazy of a guy to begin with unless you really get him riled up—

Fuyu blinked, the strap of her tank top slipping a bit over her shoulder.

Sero and Mina grabbed onto each other, jaws dropping in disbelief. "I-It's a Japanese room?"

"Was his made differently?" Mineta and Kaminari cried.

Midoriya and Ochako were equally shocked, eyes round in surprise at the interior of Todoroki's room. They all hesitantly shuffled inwards, keep close together as though afraid to come near any of the pricey or antique objects, radiating a class several rungs higher than their own.

From floor to top, Todoroki's room really was as traditional as it got. Tatami flooring had been worked in over the original hardwood design, followed by paneled walls. The door to his veranda had been switched out for wood and paper, perfectly similar to the kind of design Fuyu was used too from her own home and... before. Todoroki's dressers came straight from a historical taiga drama, matching Naomi's back home along with a simple wooden closet where his futon was most likely stored.

"We have tatami at home," Todoroki said simply. "So I can't relax on flooring."

"Who cares about why?" Kaminari exclaimed, fizzling out.

"How did you remodel it in a day?" Mineta cried.

Todoroki faced them evenly.

"I worked hard."

"F-Fuyu-chan, are you okay?" Ochako cried, looking over to where Fuyu was on her knees, feeling along the floor with her palms and biting her lip. "W-What's wrong? Did you drop something?"

I don't want to admit it... Fuyu bit her lip, feeling the familiar, cool scratch of tatami flooring press up back against her palms. Everything to the small kneeling desk and the paper-lantern lamp and even the potted bamboo in the corner—this is just like home, damn it! I'm so jealous! He even kept the futon instead of the bedset!

"...it ended up working out after I helped that girl," Todoroki said, coming to stand beside Fuyu as their classmates busily started to peer around Todoroki's room.

"Her name is Hatsume-san!" Midoriya offered helpfully. Mineta scrutinized every corner, picking for flaws while Hagakure and Mina eagerly searched for any of Todoroki's potentially deeply rooted secrets.

"You did a great job," Fuyu grumbled, a bit bitter as she observed the handiwork. "You got the panels to fit nice too... damn it..."

"Do you want to do it to your room too?" Todoroki asked calmly. "We can get more for you."

"I-I don't need nothin' that extravagant!" Fuyu snapped, still touching the tatami flooring. Todoroki watched her in silence. "I ain't a pain like you! I can adjust!"

"...it isn't a pain," Todoroki said. "We'll just have to work hard."

"Stop pickin' fights with me tonight, Roki!"

"I guess some people really do just go nuts for tatami, huh?" Sero said, rubbing his chin at Fuyu's envious grumbles on the floor, happily feeling the tatami as Todoroki stood beside her. "I thought about it, but it's just too impractical."

"They're just like old people," Jirou said beside him, pointing at Todoroki and Fuyu with her earjacks. "I bet they wake up early and have tea with rice crackers too."

"Woah! I can totally picture that!"

"Where's the dirty magazines?" Mineta shouted, throwing his hands into the air. "I know you've got them too, Todoroki! Don't play coy! At the end of the day, we're all the same—"

"Mineta!" Iida said. "Cease such crude behavior—"

"I don't have anything like that," Todoroki said honestly.

"H-He's too ahead of us," Mina said, turning away from Todoroki. Hagakure seemingly did the same. "Pretty boys really do things differently!"

"You know he'll be a bigshot one day!"

Even Roki's room says enough about him. Fuyu rubbed the back of her neck, getting up off her knees and glancing over to his quiet bookshelf. I don't wanna be done in by Roki too... damn, I can only hope Hotshot's got no taste or personality in his room at all or—

Fuyu stopped, feeling everything go quiet.

On any other normal circumstance, it probably would've been fine not to have noticed it. The binding was thin, not even as wide as the pad of her finger. The corners were beaten up as though it'd been dropped several times on its edges, the little bits of binding torn and peeling backwards. The thin, cream colored book spine was tucked snug between a set of other books—Fuyu wasn't really sure why she noticed it in that second, in just a passing glance.

It felt like something she'd already seen a thousand times. Impossible not to recognize.

Everyone's chatter faded a bit into the background. Something started to build up in her chest. The feeling was rampant, climbing up and up into her throat, making her mouth feel dry. She could hear the pounding pulse of her own heart in her head, echoing loudly back at her as she stared and stared and felt her eyes grow warm, as though somehow she'd see exactly why the book was drawing her to it—

"This is my treasure."

It'd almost felt like it'd been awhile since Fuyu felt this way. Maybe it was everything that'd happened recently, her own thoughts and feelings all in a jumble. It'd all felt too difficult to prioritize. But here, sitting quietly in Todoroki's bookshelf, something that felt so preciously, incomprehensibly important—

"Want to run too?"

"...hey, Roki," Fuyu said. She hated how it barely sounded like a whisper. It was strange—what was going on all of a sudden, huh? This meek, quiet little voice—this feeling that almost felt frightful—but Todoroki heard her regardless, calmly turning to look at her, waiting. "Your... your bookshelf... it's... there's... this might sound weird..."

"It's okay if you don't remember," Todoroki'd said, looking at her that time. And the times after that. All of them, quiet and calm, as though it really, really were okay. "I do."

All of Todoroki's little facts he still delivered to her without fail. The way he seemed perfectly content in telling her these things she couldn't even remember herself, like it didn't bother him at all, and how lonely his back looked walking away—

"They were important to me too."

Todoroki's eyes followed her riveted, nervous gaze to his bookshelf. It only seemed to take him a second to understand what she wanted. Something in Todoroki's impassive expression shifted a bit, almost relaxing as he faced her, tilting his head to the side a bit. Fuyu could smell the softener off his clothes, a cool, clean linen smell.

"It's not a book but I hope it will suffice."

Fuyu felt the cool bells chime against the back of her head.

"Do you want to see it?"

Fuyu looked at Todoroki in surprise. Her mouth opened, unable to find the right words. Todoroki gazed back at her in silence.

"The book, right?" he said, a bit quiet. "Do you want to see it?"

"I love this book—"

"It's about—"

"Alright, it's time for the last room!" Mina declared, clapping her hands out in the hall. Everyone was starting to file out of Todoroki's room. Fuyu jumped a bit, hands on her knees and ripping her eyes from Todoroki's bookshelf. "I don't know if my heart can take being in a hunk's room any longer~"

"Fuyu-chan, Todoroki-kun!" Ochako said, waving beside Midoriya and Iida from the door. "Are you guys still talking about tatami? Let's go!"

Fuyu quickly turned back to Todoroki, almost balking when she realized he'd never stopped looking at her, waiting in silence for her response. The coolness of his expression unnerved her, something in the quiet clarity of his eyes felt like a promise she wasn't sure she'd made.

My nerves used to be like steel. Fuyu thought grumpily. I'm all over the place, aren't I?

"...can I?" Fuyu asked, rubbing the back of her neck. "Next time... when we're finished... in private or somethin' in case it's embarassin' and only if you want to or if ya don't—"

"Okay," Todoroki said.

Maybe she was just imagining it. It was like Todoroki was a robot to begin with, but he still wasn't the most expressive of the bunch depending on the situation.

But just for a moment, maybe more...

You seemed happy to hear that?

Forget this shit. Fuyu thought in sudden, clear resolution. This is all a joke. I'm backing it out. Forget this. I ain't got time for this.

She should've just called it a night like Hotshot or Tsuyu. Maybe she should've just taken Todoroki up on his offer and checked out the book, telling everyone to scram—but then that'd just be plain rude and mean and it wasn't like she didn't want to spend time with everyone. This whole room show and tell was fun in its own right and it felt kind of homely to be spending time with her classmates outside of class. Gave her a bit of a taste of what dorming might be like on the nicer side.

But as all the rooms started to dwindle, moving past the sweet taste of Satou's cake, Mina's flashy room and Hagakure's sweet, cute design—even Ochako's humble and comfortable set up and Jirou's amazing passion for music—Fuyu dully started to realize that, eventually, her room was supposed to come up on the list as well.

All the earlier anxiety Fuyu was getting increasingly annoyed at feeling—it's just a room! A room!—had started climbing back up her throat. She didn't care what other people thought about her, but she couldn't help but care about what these people thought about her. What if her room said more about her than she realized? The only person who'd ever seen her place was Shinsou and he didn't count since he knew her and was already unfazed—

Are you stupid or something? Fuyu felt all her blood move around restlessly in her body, banging back and forth and making her nauseous. How do you forget shit like that? Fuyu, you really are an idiot—that memory sure as hell never fades—

Every step Fuyu took down the hallway to her room felt stiff and rigid, as though all her blood was poured down to her toes to weigh each step. Her classmates followed behind her, chatting amiably without a care in the world.

"Next is Fu-chan's room, right?" Kaminari said. "This is kind of exciting! I don't really know what to expect."

Expect nothing, damn it!

"I know what you mean!" Sero said. "It could be anything, right? Like what if she's actually got an unexpectedly cute side?"

"Kouki-chan's bolder than any of you think," Mineta said, rubbing his fingers together. "I'm looking forward to what we'll see."

"My heart is racing a bit!" Ochako said, almost pressing her fingertips together. "It's Fuyu-chan's room, so it's got to have a lot of the things you like!"

"Maybe medical supplies?" Momo wondered, tapping her chin. Jirou nodded in understanding. "Fuyu-chan is more studious than we realize... ah, perhaps a nice tea set or two?"

"I'm sure Kouki's room will be perfectly up to standard, just as expected!" Iida said firmly, waving a hand and nearly smacking Midoriya upside. Todoroki walked calmly beside them, his hands in his pockets. "Neat and orderly and—"

"Wait, wait, we're forgetting she's our own class delinquent," Sero said, snapping his fingers. "She'll probably look the look then, right? Maybe a bat lying around and her room a mess..."

"Woah, you could totally be right! What if her room is like a punk or something? Hey, Fu-chan, are you more of a stereotype delinquent or do you go for a more new-age kind of vibe—"

"I ain't none of those things, damn it!" Fuyu snapped, stopping rigidly in front of her door as she roughly turned around to face the assembled crowd. "Listen here, got it? There ain't nothin' crazy or impressive in here, so don't go imagining weird shit! It's just a room, alright?"

Fuyu roughly balled up the nerves and worries and tossed them aside, threatening to stomp them into the ground. That's right—it's just a room! These guys aren't going to look at you any less for a stupid room. And you've also got that! Yeah, that! Something no one here has...

Fuyu grumbled to herself, grabbing the doorknob. Let's do just do this.

She jerkily pulled the door open, stepping aside so her classmates could see into her own room.

There really hadn't been that much for her to do with it, just like she'd said—Fuyu only had so much she owned to begin with.

She'd started with the furniture first. Fuyu's biggest worry had been getting used to the bed, and after a bit of tossing and turning on the issued mattress, she'd used tendrils of her blood to lower it down to the first floor from the veranda. Fuyu played around with the bedframe, taking the entire thing apart until she was left with a small wooden platform only a few inches from the ground. On top of that she layered her futon and another layer of comforters before settling her sheets and bright orange blanket. Two pillows sat at the headrest with one long white pillow pressed to the wall beside a teacup plush.

Fuyu moved the desk to the corner of the room by the veranda so it'd take up less space. She put all her school supplies into the drawers along with her extra first aid kits and medical books. On the top shelf she placed Momo's Fuyutryoshka doll, her old ripped scrunchie around it, and beside the two, a mini All Might figurine Midoriya had given to her. Momo hadn't thought wrong—an old tea set from home was placed in a top drawer for her to use, complete with a mini-hot water heater.

She had a small book shelf she'd brought along that came up evenly with the desk surface. She pushed it snug beside it and pushed the refrigerator up underneath the chunk of space the desk offered. She'd put the few books and manga she had inside, using one drawer to place an organized basket of all her prescriptions and medicines. Another drawer was safely tucked aside with her scrapbooks from home. On top of the shelves sat a row of framed photos. One with her and the brats from Masegaki, one with her and Sora, another with her and her grandparents. A few other photos were arranged beside them like the shelf of a doting grandparent.

A single, old frame of Ai Kouki, smiling under the brim of a sunhat and one horizontal frame of Class 1-A on the first day of their summer training camp before it all went to hell.

Fuyu had gotten rid of the dresser since the closet was more than enough space for all her clothes. She had her little hot water boiler and tea set with her, along with the boxes full of snacks and goods from her old konbini and the cafe.

She'd set down a small welcome rug with her teacup mascot offering a thumbs up at the front of her door for a bit of character. A larger, moveable tatami mat rug she'd rolled up from home was fitted under a corner of her bed and covering part of her floor like a rug. She had a knitted throw blanket with its teacup mascot tossed over her mattress too.

The door to her veranda was propped open a crack. The wind chime Sora had given her clanked softly with the little breeze.

"See?" Fuyu said with a bit of a snort. "There isn't much. Just another room and nothing impressive like all of yours. We can move on to the next one—"

"What the heck even is this thing?" Ojiro said, looking down at the welcome tea mascot rug with a start of surprise. "You've got a plush of it too—is this some kind of character?"

"It's this mascot for a brand or something!" Kirishima said, hitting his fist to his palm. "We found out about it when we went to the arcade—you've noticed how Fuyu's got a ton of stuff with it, right?"

"It's not really cute," Mina lamented, Hagakure seemingly nodding beside her, but it was difficult to tell.

"These are the records I gave you!" Jirou said, eyes lighting up in excitement as she drifted to the part of the room where Fuyu had a small record player set up over the bookshelf. "So vintage—you didn't need to show them off! They're just a couple I thought you'd like..."

"Ah, it's the matryoshka!" Momo said, delighted. Iida nodded in affirmation at the bottles of vitamins he'd recommended to Fuyu before. "You didn't need to have it on display either..."

"These are from the arcade!" Kaminari laughed, pointing to the photo set Fuyu had pinned to the wall above the photo frames. "I still don't know how we got half of Bakugou in this one..."

"You didn't need to put this photo up..." Tokoyami said, a hand covering his face as Dark Shadow peered happily at the photo Fuyu also had pinned to the wall of the two of them from their impromptu meet-up during the internships.

"These are our scrunchies we won from the butler café we checked out!" Hagakure squealed, pointing to the small wall Fuyu had tacked them up on as well. "You make them look like trophies! They're just little consolation prizes."

"The clothes?" Mineta demanded. "Where are the clothes—"

Ojiro's tail smacked him backwards, nearly tumbling Mineta out of the room and between Todoroki's legs.

"Huh? Deku-kun, these are your notes!" Ochako gasped, pointing to pinned papers over the top of Fuyu's desk. Midoriya's face flushed bright red, steam shooting out from his ears from where he'd been marveling over the little All Might figurine he'd given Fuyu. "And this is... a newspaper clip of me from the sports festival?"

Ochako and Midoriya flushed in unison, burying their heads in their hands in surprise. Aoyama proudly stood beside a sparkling scarf he'd gifted Fuyu, trying to draw attention to it as everyone continue to fill Fuyu's room.

"It's the guy from the General course!" Mina shouted suddenly, pointing to a photo of Fuyu from middle school beside Shinsou. The two of them were in uniform in front of the gates. "That's it! I knew you two were dating!"

"Fuyu in middle school?" Kirishima said, looking over. Sero and Kaminari burst out into laughter, clutching their stomachs.

"Why do you look so mad?"

"She really did look like a delinquent! She totally tried to turn over a new leaf when she came to our class!"

"Hi, I'm Kouki! Here are some apples—"

"I didn't say any of that!" Fuyu snapped, threatening to throw punches at the other two. Kaminari and Sero burst out into tears, laughing harder. "Leave me alone, damn it!"

"Fuyu-chan, you definitely seem to be happier now," Ochako said, holding the picture up. "The uniform is cute though!"

"Shinsou actually looks a bit happy," Midoriya said sheepishly. "I didn't know he could make that face."

Todoroki stared at the picture over Ochako's shoulder, eyes running down to Fuyu's downturned mouth and to the crease of her brows, half turned as though she were about to walk away from the photo.

"Forget that!" Hagakure said, pointing to another frame. "It's the hot older man from the hospital!"

"She was just his intern," Tokoyami said.

Todoroki's fingers drifted over the bare wood of the bookshelf. His eyes stayed longer on the photos Fuyu had framed, pausing in front of the one. Todoroki seemed to pause for a moment and Fuyu raised a brow, curiously peeking around his elbow before she blinked in surprise.

"...your mother?" Todoroki asked. Fuyu rubbed the back of her neck. "Your eyes are the same."

"Yeah," Fuyu mumbled a bit gruffly. "Wish I took more after her though."

Todoroki's eyes flickered over to her. Fuyu shrugged, "She's way more—"

Hagakure peeked around Todoroki's side and gasped, lifting up the photo. Todoroki shifted beside her, "F-Fu-chan! Who's this gorgeous lady—no, this has to be your mom, isn't it?"

"What, no way!" Mina eagerly crowded forward. "Wow! She's so pretty! Fu-chan, you've got her eyes—did you get your Quirk from her too?"

"Let me see!" Mineta demanded. Mina handed the photo frame over to Shoji.

"I can kind of see the resemblance," Kaminari said. Sero nodded. "She's got a way softer look though—not rough at all!"

"Fuyu-chan, your mom is lovely," Ochako said.

Pride welled up in Fuyu's chest. It flooded all the way down to the tips of her fingers. "...yeah, I know, right?" I don't look anything like that. She looks like she could heal anyone.

Fuyu couldn't help but grin, her heart feeling a little lighter. Midoriya watched her from across the room, brows creased a bit until he noticed the upturn curve of her lips.

"She was a crazy beautiful lady," Fuyu said, grinning proudly. "Everyone loved her."

"Everything in here has a kind of homely feel to it, doesn't it?" Sero said. "It's all got this worn feeling to it."

"Fu-chan always acts like an old lady," Kaminari laughed. Fuyu grumbled from the doorway. "It's like mine! It's got a little bit of everything!"

"Yeah, but hers isn't cluttered like yours," Jirou pointed out. "There's so much empty space compared to yours!"

"Indeed," Momo agreed. "It makes me a bit troubled to even think of mine... Fuyu-chan, you managed to fit everything in so small a space so well..."

"Yeah, Fuyu!" Kirishima said suddenly in surprise, turning around and around. "It's like you just shoved everything to the back of the room! Are you expecting more stuff?"

"Nah," Fuyu said simply. "It's just because this is all I have. Kind of like Shoji, but I guess less because it's a life choice or anythin'."

"It really does feel like Fuyu-chan in its own way," Ochako said, tapping her chin in thought. "But it feels like it's because of something I can't really put my finger on..."

She felt a little more at ease—even if she didn't care in the first place, and she really, really didn't, honestly, for sure, absolutely—the reception to her room had been normal enough. No peering looks, no concerned glances or... it was all fine.

You're fine.

"I don't really have anything else to decorate it with," Fuyu grinned a bit, shrugging as she motioned to her stuff. "I only have so much because of you guys, so thanks. 's kinda nice, something to remember all of your dumb faces."

"Hey! Don't turn something nice into something mean!" Kaminari whined.

Midoriya paused a second at her words. He blinked, quietly turning his head around the room, taking in all the little pieces of it that had come from their classmates, little things they'd shared or given to Fuyu and—

Midoriya felt something click.

"My room is like this because of all of you."

"This Kouki Fuyu exists here and now, because of all of you."

"But you know what, I did get this," Fuyu brightened, quickly shuffling through her pockets. Everyone watched her, varying expressions as she hurriedly pulled out a small wooden cube. Fuyu motioned for all of them to back up and grinned, hitting the side of the box and dropping it down onto the ground.

With a resounding pop a wooden kotatsu quickly expanded outwards, settling with a thump onto Fuyu's tatami rug. Her classmates stared as she quickly circled the table like a dog, eagerly adjusting the comforter that protruded from it before she slid under, grinning at all of them. "Isn't this awesome? Look!"

Fuyu hit her fist onto the table. "A portable kotatsu!"

...

...

...

"The hell is wrong with you guys? This is awesome!"

"This room really is like Fu-chan," Kaminari said.

"You're the kind of person that's easy to shop for for Christmas," Hagakure said mercilessly.

"The hell is that supposed to mean? Screw it, get out of here! Let's just get this shit over with!"

"Fuyu-chan's room was nice," Ochako said pleasantly, walking beside Midoriya. He nodded, smiling despite the light tap of his fingers against his side. "But you know, when Fuyu-chan said she didn't have a lot of stuff..."

Ochako scratched the side of her cheek, looking up at Fuyu's back as she walked between Tokoyami and Aoyama, complaining loudly about something. Midoriya was silent, following Ochako's gaze. Todoroki walked on his left.

"I dunno," Ochako laughed, a little nervous. "I guess it just made me want to make sure I knew more about Fuyu-chan."

"It felt like you could pack it all into a couple of boxes," Todoroki said. Ochako and Midoriya looked at him in surprise. "And it'd all be gone."

Ochako's smile fell a bit, brows creasing. Todoroki kept his gaze on Fuyu's back, silent.

"...then we just have to make sure she has more," Midoriya said. "Lots of things... more than a couple boxes could fit... right?"

"T-That's right!" Ochako said, holding up a fierce fist. "You're totally right, Deku-kun! Todoroki-kun too! We'll do just that!"

The me of today is here thanks to all of you.

"Who is that me then?"

"These votes were rigged!" Kaminari shouted, hitting his fist against the common room coffee table. "Rigged I say!"

"It was a perfectly fair vote," Momo said calmly. "Really, Satou-san's hobby was so wonderful. It made quite a bit of sense."

"His cake was so good," Mina said, patting her stomach. "Can't wait to eat more."

"Rigged!"

"This kinda stuff has me beat," Fuyu sighed, leaning her head back on the rest of the couch. Tokoyami sat beside her with his hands folded in his lap. Aoyama hung around behind them, half leaning onto the couch as well as he beamed. "Just gonna live in a one room house or something."

"The path of minimalism is not a dreary one," Tokoyami said wisely. "Perhaps I shall join you."

"And give up all your candles and swords?"

"Silence."

"Mon cheri, you need only ask me to help you," Aoyama said proudly, pressing a hand to his chest. "I will take care of all the necessities!"

"I'm okay," Fuyu said pleasantly. Aoyama remained sparkling, frozen rigidly into stone. "Your stuff is fun to look at but not to have. I'd rather appreciate it from afar."

"I'm glad you understand its dazzle!"

If this is how living with everyone is going to be like, than it really doesn't seem that terrible. Fuyu eyed the high ceiling, slumping back into the couch cushions. She hadn't even done that much today, but the fatigue still came crawling, making her arms heavy. Just different. I can get used to this, right gram? Gramps would just call me stupid for worrying in the first place. He'd laugh if he knew how much I worried about how my room looked to them.

"Tryin' to impress your friends? Who do ya think you are?"

Fuyu chased the memory of his voice until it felt real enough to believe.

"Kouki."

Fuyu peeked one eye open, craning her head back to find Aoyama blinking with his pensively bright face at Todoroki, know standing behind the couch beside them. "When you want to see that book, let me know."

"...yeah, I will," Fuyu said, opening up both her eyes and turning to face Todoroki. His expression seemed cool, eyes quiet. "...thanks, Roki."

Todoroki merely shrugged, turning on his heel to address Midoriya and Iida, "If we're done, I'm going to go to sleep. I'm tired."

"That's fine, but brush your teeth!" Iida said.

"Thanks for holding out till the end," Midoriya said sheepishly. "We'll see you in the morning—"

"Ah, wait! Todoroki-kun, one second," Ochako said. Fuyu blinked, looking over in curiosity. "Deku-kun. Iida-kun, Kirishima-kun, Yaoyorozu-chan and Fuyu-chan too... could we talk for a second?"

Fuyu frowned, standing up. Tokoyami opened an eye to gaze at her but she waved him and Aoyama off, the group of them splitting away from their classmates and following behind Ochako. She quietly led them to the double doors of the dormitory, gently pulling them open and stepping outside. "I'm sorry, this will just be a minute."

"What's up, Uraraka?" Kirishima said. "Is something..."

A cool breeze greeted Fuyu's face. She paused for a moment at the top of the steps, letting the wind tug the bits of her hair around her. It's starting to grow out now. The air wasn't cold, pleasant enough to remind them all of summer. Fuyu's eyes searched the courtyard as Ochako led them down the steps, stopping when she finally noticed who was waiting for all of them outside.

"...Tsuyu," Fuyu said, stopping between Midoriya and Todoroki. Her eyes flickered to Ochako's concerned expression and she tensed a bit, realizing just who was gathered here right now. No, that's right. Tsuyu never said anything when they all came to tell me at the hospital... and it was clear everyone was split on the whole thing...

Yikes. Fuyu rubbed the back of her neck. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle a lecture from Tsuyu of all people. It'd have just as much bite to it as Aizawa's disappointed gaze. Maybe even worse.

"You see, Tsu-chan said she had something to tell you all," Ochako said softly, giving Tsuyu's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Go ahead, Tsu-chan."

Tsuyu hesitated a moment, gazing down at her hands before she met each of their gazes. The warm lamplight above them flickered, casting their shadows back away from them.

"You see, I usually always say what's on my mind," Tsuyu said quietly. "...but there are times too when I don't know what to say. Do you remember what I said at the hospital?"

Fuyu tensed. Midoriya's brows creased beside her, mimicking their groups shared expressions. Tsuyu frowned, staring hard at the floor. Her gentle brows creased. "I told all of you... you'd be acting like criminals for doing what you did... for dragging injured people into it, even if it was their choice..."

"...yeah," Midoriya said softly. "I remember."

"...I hardened my heart and said some painful things," Tsuyu said. Ochako quickly placed her hand on Tsuyu's back, holding her comfortingly. "Even so... you all still went. When I heard about it this morning I was shocked."

Tsuyu's voice cracked, warbling with what sounded like tears. Fuyu's hands curled into a fist at her side, looking hard at her scuffed up shoes. She thought about Aizawa's hands, firmly holding her shoulders.

"Remember what would've happened if things had turned out for the worst."

"Would you have been satisfied with losing it all?"

"I thought I'd stopped you, so I was filled with disappointment and bad feelings..." Tsuyu choked. "I didn't know what to say... and my own pathetic feelings... I just felt like I couldn't have fun talking with everyone but..."

Tsuyu looked up. Warm, wet tears started to fall from her eyes, dripping down her cheeks as her lips trembled. Fuyu felt her stomach clench. "But just the thought of that... made me so sad... That's why I wanted to tell you, even if I hadn't gathered my thoughts properly so that I could have fun with everyone again."

"It's not just Tsuyu-chan who feels this way," Ochako said softly, turning to face them with worried brows. "Everyone felt uneasy and wanted to make that feeling go away... that's why the Room King and everything was because they understood how you all felt... so don't blame them, but you know... I mean, I know it's hard but..."

Ochako took a brave step forward, hopefully thrusting her fist into the air. "Let's all work hard together again! Let's all work hard together and laugh together again!"

Let's all get back on track!

Fuyu halted, feeling her body root itself to the ground below her.

"Tsuyu-chan, I'm sorry!" Kirishima shouted, running forward. "Thank you for telling us how you feel!"

"Asui-san, I'm so sorry!" Momo said. "Thank you!"

"I'm very sorry, Tsuyu-chan!" Iida shouted, bowing his head as low as he could. Tsuyu's tears started to fall harder and Momo rushed to hug her, Kirishima clasping her over the shoulder. Midoriya's eyes watered.

"Asui," Todoroki said quietly. "Sorry."

"Tsuyu-chan, I'm sorry," Midoriya said.

What would've happened to you if you'd lost this place? I don't regret going to save Bakugou. I wanted to go. I wanted to do something.

"You have to own up to what comes after the choices you make."

Where are you going to go from here on out?

"I want to run beside them. I want to be like them."

"Do you remember how you felt when you walked through that door?"

You have to understand what it means to become someone who's important to someone else.

Ochako's words struck a chord in Fuyu she knew had been growing more and more taut. It'd started to wind itself upwards, holding fast to Fuyu's heart. What sound is that supposed to make? What sound are you looking for?

She wanted things to get back to normal too. More than anything, that's what she probably had been looking to explain how she wanted to feel. Normal. Fuyu wanted just that. She wanted to keep following this path, wherever it led, with these people beside her. More than anything.

"Because it's all you have left?"

"Tsuyu," Fuyu said, reaching out and lightly grabbing the edge of Tsuyu's shirt. With her free hand she reached upwards, trying to help her wipe her tears. "Sorry. Sorry, Tsuyu... sorry."

Back to the path of trying to become heroes—

"How are you going to beat him?"

"Sorry," Fuyu said softly. "Sorry."

"I feel like all the anger inside you left to one place."

Fuyu stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling above her.

The futon she'd spread over the low bed was more than comfortable. It felt great, to be honest. Her light comforter was just enough for the cool summer air without it getting too stuffy. She could get used to this bed. This room.

She didn't have curtains to cover up the glass of her veranda, so the low moonlight came filtering in. She'd spent an hour already trying to familiarize herself with the way her new room looked, getting used to all of it before she turned around and faced the wall instead.

Ochako's on the other side. Fuyu reached out and pressed a hand against the wall. Next to her is Jirou. Above is Momo and Tsuyu. Below is Mina and Haga.

There were people all around her. This whole building was filled with people, her classmates—my friends. Precious people who'd become frighteningly important to her. More than she'd originally been willing to admit.

And still, Fuyu couldn't sleep.

Her eyes started to glow red. The warm, familiar sensation behind her eyes increased, growing hotter. She could make out Ochako's string through the wall, beyond on that even Jirou's—Sora's right, it can get stronger if I try harder. Ever since the events of the training camp, the same action that'd nearly robbed her of her sight had doubled and strengthened her connection with her Quirk. Like this, without taking any pain, it works really well.

Fuyu shut her eyes, trying to flood her head with the good things. All of today's memories brought a wry smile to her lips and she grabbed her pillow harder.

Empty.

Fuyu waited, lying in bed for a little while longer before she reached her hand underneath the futon, shuffling about. Her fingers snagged the cold piece of metal and she tugged it free, holding it up in front of her in the darkness of her room.

The familiar make of a lighter gazed back at her. She ran her thumb along the engraved side. The characters for Naomi.

"It's totally tacky of you to get her name on this," Fuyu muttered. She'd tossed the old, cheap lighter she used to use away ages ago.

She couldn't help taking this with her before she'd cleared out of the apartment. This along with a box of those small things. Familiar and aching.

Fuyu propped up the lid. The metal was light to her touch, just enough weight to it. Heavier than she was used to. She flicked the switch and watched the wavering flame appear before her, lying on her side. Fuyu flicked the lighter closed and then back open, repeating the action again.

It's warm.

She kept watching the little bit of fire, feeling the heat on her cheeks until she finally fell asleep.

"The hell is that stupid ass shirt?"

Fuyu blinked blearily for a moment. She swayed a little on her feet, still groggy from the fitful night of sleep. Bright orange slippers covered her feet, leaving her legs bare until it came to a comfortable pair of gym shorts and an equally bright, faded orange t-shirt with a brightly grinning teacup winking back at everyone who took a glance.

Her hair was undone, loose and floofed out over her shoulders. Unruly strands stuck up like little tufts of fluff down her back. Fuyu squinted at the sight before her, rubbing her eyes before she shook her head free of the grog.

It took her a few more seconds before she finally realized what she was looking at was one Bakugou Katsuki—unimpressed and scowling as he sat behind one of the empty tables beside the little kitchen prepared for them. He already looked ready for the day, clad in a pair of jogging shorts and a black tank with a track jacket thrown over it, outlined in red.

Fuyu blinked again. She stared at Bakugou's seated figure at the table, turning around to look at the rest of the common room before she yawned, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Oh, man," Fuyu mumbled. "'s gonna take me a bit to get used to this."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean, Apples?" Bakugou snapped. Fuyu winced at the volume, albeit feeling like it was starting to help her wake up. "I don't need to see your lameass every morning either."

"Mhmm," Fuyu said sleepily, shuffling over to the table. Bakugou bared his teeth at her and she slumped down into a chair, gathering her hair up. The bells on her wrist clinked and she barely managed to get it up into a ponytail, clearing her up a bit. "Guess if this is how early ya wake up, we'll be seeing each other more."

"I can get up earlier than this, dumbass," Bakugou said. He looked her up and down and scoffed. "You barely look awake. You sleepwalk all the way down here?"

"Nah, I'm a bit of an early riser too," Fuyu yawned again. Bakugou snorted. "Just not used to the room yet. Guess ya slept well though. You're a grandpa, aren't cha?"

"If you want a fight this early in the morning you've got one," Bakugou snapped. "And I'm not the only fucking one up either."

"You said something before that," Fuyu said, brows scrunched in thought. She touched her shirt. "Wait, I remember. You like it? 's limited edition. Got it from—"

"I don't care about your stupid shirt," Bakugou shouted. Fuyu nodded along, laying her cheek on the table and looking sleepily at him. "Go back to fucking sleep if you can't even stay awake!"

"Don't wanna," Fuyu said. "I'm almost up. Feel my blood running. Ya goin' for a run?"

"Don't have time to waste like you losers," Bakugou sneered. Fuyu hummed in response, noticing his plate and bowls. She turned toward the kitchen, finding a pot on the stove and the rice cooker already on.

"Wow," Fuyu said, she blinked, a little more awake as she turned back to Bakugou. "You cooked breakfast for yourself? Good job."

"I don't need your shitty praise!" Bakugou snapped. He roughly stood up, kicking back from the table and jostling everything. Fuyu watched, her chin resting on the table as Bakugou dumped his dishes into the sink, aggressively washing it all in record time and storming past her. "Choke on the fucking soup! I'm tired of talking to your half-awake ass."

Fuyu simply watched him, idly content as he stormed around the common area, cursing up a storm before kicking on his shoes in the genkan. He roughly turned back to her, barking out, "Can't believe I have to see your stupid face every morning—" before tugging the door open and heading out without another word.

The door slammed behind him. Fuyu stared at it a bit longer before her brows scrunched up and she looked back to the kitchen.

Did he just offer me some soup?

Fuyu waited a few minutes before shrugging. She stood up from the table, making her way to the kitchen and curiously sniffing around the pot. The miso soup looked back at her, dark in color. Fuyu grabbed a bowl from the cupboards, using the ladle beside it scoop herself some. Ah, he's more seaweed than tofu kind of guy.

Fuyu sat back at the table, blowing on the soup and quietly thanking Bakugou for the food before she took a spoonful.

Ah, that's kind of spicy. Fuyu brought the bowl to her lips. Huh. Kind of good though. He likes it really spicy I guess.

The elevator dinged open. Fuyu turned, looking over her bowl of soup as the doors opened and Mina and Kaminari came walking out of their respective elevators, yawning before they looked at each other and pointed, laughing.

"Oh, Fu-chan!" Kaminari said. "Morning! Morning! Hey, this is kind of crazy! We see each other for school in the morning too, but this has this whole other vibe to it!"

"Right, right?" Mina said, already skipping over to the table. "Woah! Miso soup? Did you make it?"

"Hotshot," Fuyu said, chewing the seaweed. He should add more tofu. "I think it's fine if you have some. He just said choke on it."

"Bakugou's food? Don't mind if I do!" Kaminari exclaimed, hurrying over into the kitchen. "I'm more of a bread or eggs kind of guy, but I like this! Traditional!"

"I totally know what you mean," Mina said. "I normally don't eat breakfast unless it's the weekend. This is kind of cute though! Should we take turns or something?"

"That'd be—this is spicy!" Kaminari cried, coughing on the soup. "Holy—it burns!"

This amount of noise is gonna take a while to get used too. Fuyu quietly continued to sip her soup. Mina laughed at Kaminari's tearful expression, watching him take mouthfuls of the tap water.

"Fu-chan, do you always wake up this early?" Mina asked, taking a seat beside her. "You seem like the type to always be late!"

"I usually wasn't ever late that much," Fuyu muttered, "stop profilin' me. Normally my grandparents are up early so I got up too."

"I'm too scared of the soup," Kaminari complained, coming over to them. "Let's make pancakes or something. Anyone know how to make pancakes—"

The front door quietly opened. All three of them turned, Fuyu still slurping her soup.

"Woah, Todoroki-kun!" Mina said, "Ten points! That I just went for a run look is a good one!"

Todoroki stood in the wide genkan of their dormitory, chest rising and falling a bit with his evening breaths. Fuyu realized he was probably what Bakugou had meant by not the only one to wake-up early. Todoroki's white jogging pants were sleek, matching evenly with the white track jacket he wore over a black shirt. A brown paper bag sat at his feet. He scanned the common room before landing on the three of them. Todoroki's brows creased a bit at Mina's words, but he seemed to disregard it, nodding once to all of them before bending down to take his shoes off.

"Ugh, just looking at him hurts," Kaminari said, holding a hand to his stomach. "Living with these top tier guys is gonna be hard. How are the rest of us supposed to compare to them?"

"I know, right?" Mina giggled. "Of course Todoroki-kun and Bakugou are the type to go for a run."

"Mornin'," Fuyu greeted, leaning back in her chair. Todoroki looked up at her from his shoes, grabbing the handles of his bag and stepping into the common area.

"Good morning," he greeted evenly. Fuyu turned to the kitchen.

"There's some miso soup if you want, but it's a bit spicy—"

Kaminari and Mina blinked, eyes round like children at Todoroki. Fuyu paused, blinking herself when a ghost of cool air pressed close to her, mingling with a whisper of warmth. She turned back around in her chair, craning her head up to meet Todoroki's clear gaze. It looked like he'd had quite a run—the ends of his peppermint hair clinging lightly to the sides of his cheeks.

"Good morning," Todoroki said again suddenly, as though he didn't know what else he should've said. Fuyu blinked at him in confusion, a little startled by the sudden proximity.

Mina and Kaminari owlishly looked at each other, turning back to the scene before them.

"Uh," Fuyu said. "Morning... Roki... are you—"

Todoroki reached down into his big brown paper bag. Fuyu arched a brow in confusion, turning her gaze downwards and blinking when she noticed the dirt underneath his nails and on his hands. Did he fall or something? Todoroki's fingers disappeared into the bag, quickly pulling a brightly colored object back out.

Fuyu blinked once, twice.

Bright, dark red orchids, the color of shiny apples, bobbed right back at her against their thin, elegant, branched stem. A few buds promised growth beside them.

Fuyu blinked again, making sure what she was seeing was right. Todoroki's dirt stained fingers carefully held onto a round, cream colored ceramic pot, tied off neatly with a thick crimson bow. He set it down on the table, staring over the top of the flowers in silence for a moment as Fuyu gazed back, startled.

"...you went for a run this early just for flowers?" Fuyu said in disbelief, craning her neck around to look back at the orchids. "I mean, shit, they're plenty beautiful—I like flowers too but, I dunno, wow, Roki. I didn't know ya liked them this much—"

"They're yours," Todoroki said.

Fuyu stared at the beautiful, pretty red orchids. Naomi had one pot of orchids. Lavender in color. She didn't have many because they were awful expensive and she was fonder of easier flowers. She always said they were gorgeous things though, temperamental and in need of careful care.

Fuyu stared at the flowers and then she looked back at Todoroki.

"Huh?"

"The flowers," Todoroki said. He nodded to them and then to her, expression unreadable. "They're yours."

Mina and Kaminari's jaws dropped, hitting the table.

Fuyu took another moment. She rubbed her eyes, as though to make sure she still wasn't sleepy, and then she turned back to Todoroki.

"I-I'm sorry?"

Todoroki blinked slowly. Quietly, he brought her hands upwards and cupped them in the air. He reached around and placed the small pot of orchids into her hands, curling her fingers around the smooth ceramic to make sure it wouldn't slip. Fuyu stared at the beautiful flowers, mouth falling open in disbelief. Huh?

His fingers lingered over hers for a moment, one warm and the other cool. But both his eyes regarded her with the same amount of clear, quiet warmth. The corner of Todoroki's lip ghosted upwards, like the bare wisp of a smile. "You said you didn't have anything to decorate your room with, right?"

Fuyu gaped in disbelief. The smooth, beautifully crafted ceramic pot was tied off with a bright red ribbon, the same color as her eyes. Todoroki's fingers curled over the ribbon and his gaze flickered.

"This way you can think of me as well."

Fuyu stared at the orchids. She looked at Todoroki. She looked at the flowers.

"Don't let them die," Todoroki added. "I looked up how to take care of them. Let me know if you have questions."

Fuyu stared.

Cause you didn't have anything else to decorate your room—

Fuyu's cheeks flushed a bright, apple red. Steam crawled out from her ears. Her mouth fell open, spluttering in disbelief. Her eyes started to spin and she choked, desperately clutching the flowers so they wouldn't fall but—

"Is this a new kinda bullyin'?" Fuyu demanded, eyes spinning. "R-Roki, if you're looking for a fight—"

"I'm not."

"You—these—I didn't—thank you—you—"

Fuyu started to flubber, choking on her words. Todoroki simply stood beside her in silence, looking content with himself.

Several feet away, Mina turned her eyes from the unbelievable scene unfolding this early in the morning before her. She glanced at Kaminari who grimaced.

"He says it so honestly and without an ulterior motive—Todoroki doesn't realize how smooth he is!"

"I know, it pisses me off."

They both looked at each other and back to Todoroki and Fuyu.

"Living together is sure gonna be interesting."

Todoroki let the door to his room close behind him.

He stood in the center of his room for a moment, tightly gripping the paper bag beside him. Todoroki hesitated for a moment before he calmly made his way across the room, walking across the tatami mats and carefully kneeling down beside the veranda. He pulled the sliding door open, the cool morning air filling his room.

Todoroki turned to his side, reaching into the bag and pulling out a second pot. The edges of its ceramic finish were spotted and smeared with dirt. He carefully set it down outside, placing it to the corner so it'd get the sunlight when it shifted and still remain in the shade the rest of the day. Todoroki adjust the spot, brushing off the clods of dirt.

He sat back on his heels, observing his work before he glanced down to his dirtied fingers. A quiet scoff left his lips and he leaned back against the sliding door. His eyes drifted over to the bookshelf, lingering on the thin spine of an old, worn book. Todoroki stared at it for a little while longer before he leaned his head back against the door, letting the cool breeze tousle his hair.

"Step by step," Todoroki said.

A single bundle of white hydrangeas pushed out from the ceramic top. They'd been rearranged, wilting a little in the readjustment of being taken from their previous riverbank home and moved to this new pot. Wet dirt was packed down, trying to hold them together while several green buds were still gathered at the base, not ready to bloom.

He'd give them to her when they were ready.

Next Chapter:

The decision to move forward isn't always easy. The direction moved isn't always right. There are better days to come, if you remember it.

"Who the hell cares about shit like that? Just call it whatever ya want!"

Comment Highlights:

What your Fuyu ship says about you (based on the genius of Eldena Doubleca5t on youtube):
Fuyu x Daiki: You can forgive any villain if they're hot enough
Fuyu x Shinso: Your ideal high school relationship was emo/goth kid.
Fuyu x Midoriya: you loved self-sacrificing idiots so much that one day you were like, "Hey, you know what's better than one self-sacrificing idiot? Two self-sacrificing idiots."
Fuyu x Bakugo: You're always a sl*t for tsundere bad boys
Fuyu x Todoroki: you're always a sl*t for angsty bad boys with trauma, probably because you want them to rail you.
Bakugo x Fuyu x Todoroki: you believe that to get rid of a love triangle, one must remove the lines
Fuyu x Tokoyami: You're the kind of person that says " I'm not into furries but..."
Fuyu x Kaminari: You are a certified morosexual
Fuyu x Kirishima: You just want a good bromance
Fuyu x Iida: you want Fuyu to get her act together, but not on her own
Fuyu x Aoyama: You just want Fuyu to get some introspection
Fuyu x Yaoyorozu: You just want a harem fanfic to have some godd*mn yuri for a change
Fuyu x Jirou: You're just here for some butch-femme girls.
Fuyu x Mina: You just want to dish some gossip.
Fuyu x Uraraka: You believe a person's depression can be cured by pure cinnamon roll
Fuyu x Mirio: this is just the same as Uraraka, but you're heterosexual.
Fuyu x Amajiki: You liked awkward idiots so much that one day you were like, "Hey, you know what's better than one awkward idiot? Two awkward idiots."
Fuyu x Monoma: You think there's nothing hotter than thinly veiled hostility and resentment
Fuyu x Kota: You think a little boy having a one-sided crush is adorable.
Fuyu x Himiko: you think Yuno Gasai would make a great girlfriend
Fuyu x Aizawa: I can't say for sure you wanna f*ck dads, but you definitely wanna f*ck father figures
Fuyu x Merlin: You're into someone who you think has their act together but really they're just as f*ed up as you

AHHHHHHH I'M SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG, JFC. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR WAITING, FOR YOUR INSANE PATIENCE, THE TIME AND THE UPDATES FOR THIS ONE LITERALLY ESCAPED ME BUT MORE ARE HELLA COMING BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT THE GET FUN AND I'M SUPER EXCITED FOR THE PROVISIONAL LICENSE ARC!

Those of you reading the manga right now, god damn is shit getting crazy. I'm so excited and absolutely terrified for what's to come. I don't even know what to expect right now. Ah! For those of you watching the anime, season four was so good! The animation for endeavor's fight was great and HAWKS FINALLY APPEARED YAHOO. Can't wait for what's to come with season 5!

There's also been some INSANELY GOOD FANART over on my tumblr alkhale so please go check it out under the OHBAB tag or # fuyu fanart THERE'S EVEN A GIF SET WITH FUYU FIT IN AND FANART DONE OF SEVERAL SCENES FROM THE STORY, IT'S SO GOOD EVERYONE PLEASE GO CHECK THEM OUT. I missed you guys! I've been showing my AO3 some love because I wanted to work on some projects (if any of you are fans of the manga Jujutsu Kaisen, I've got some stuff brewing for that one too HAHAHA) and I'm so happy to finally update this one—I hope to get some more out by the end of the month if my work schedule is kind.

I hope you've all been healthy and well in the meantime. Thank you all so much for your patience and your continued support, I can't thank you all enough for loving this story and taking the time out to read it ;-; Please take care of yourselves!

This chapter shows a bit of Todoroki loving, I know he was a little neglected because I wanted to get certain things with Bakugou first. Moving forward, there's some scenes I'm really excited to write to come, I hope you'll all enjoy it!

ALSO HAHAHAHA, ALL OF YOU MONOMA HAS ME SCREAMING. We'll see more of his dumbass too. He's too much fun.

There's so much more I was supposed to say but I'm cutting short so I can post this, thank you all again for reading and for waiting!

Marshmellow-

-OUT!