A/N: If you have not read chapters 32 and 33 please don't forget to go back and read it! Thanks!
Kamiko couldn't stop checking out the earrings in her phone camera. She doesn't normally wear earrings because she's too lazy to put them in. When she's feeling fancy she would normally go for the hoop kind, or the dangling ones, the kind that made her look elegant. This set of black studs didn't really fit her aura, but rather resonated quite well with Bakugou. Well, it is the first gift he's ever given me... At least, I'd like to think of it as a gift.
She sat on her chair in the office, waiting for her hero to get off duty and take her out to dinner. Maybe I should have dressed up a little today. I didn't even put on make up. Her brows gently furrowed worriedly. She touched her cheeks with the tips of her fingers. Her skin was slightly rough to the touch. All that studying and getting sick really made it hard for her to take skin care seriously. Aahh! What do I do? Will Bakugou notice? She wondered.
Meanwhile the ash blonde was in the middle of chasing down a villain. He blasted his way into a dark alley, where the villain discovered he had run into a dead end. "Go to hell!" Bakugou blasted at the villain, not enough to kill him but definitely enough to knock him out. The police cars soon arrived on sight, and it was another event solved by the great Ground Zero.
"Ground Zero! Ground Zero!" Reporters started flying in to the site, sticking their microphones and cameras in the ash blonde hero's face. "The crime rates in Tsukuba City has not been going down since the Nomu attack! Do you have anything to say about that?"
"Do you see the rising crime activity as a failure on your part as a hero?"
"With society in its current state, can you confidently tell the civilians to put their trust in you?"
Bakugou glared at the damn extras blocking his way. This wasn't a problem in his younger days, but he's come to realize this more after years of working as a pro hero: the importance of media influence. With media constantly questioning the works of heroes, it's difficult for civilians, especially the ones lacking in high education, to think for themselves and build trust in heroes. Bakugou could even pinpoint media as one of the key factors to rising crime rates.
Tsukuba City has always been a city with an average crime rate. Most of the crimes being small crimes such as robbery or underground drug dealing. Normally crimes in Tsukuba City don't really affect the lives of average civilians, leaving the people here with a generally positive outlook on heroes. Ever since the Nomu attack however, media has been turning against heroes.
Bakugou walked away, deciding he'll just ignore them again, like he always does. He knew no matter what he said, media will always find a way to twist his meaning to their own purpose.
"Ground Zero! It's been over five years since All Might's retirement! The masses have predicted the next Symbol of Peace to emerge between either you, Deku, or hero Shoto! Do you have anything to say about that?" A reporter caught his attention. Bakugou locked eyes with the young reporter. He looked like he was in his early twenties, spiky pink hair, large brown eyes. Unlike the other reporters, Bakugou saw hope in this one's eyes. He stared at Bakugou desperately, mouth minced into a nervous smile. Bakugou stepped up to his microphone. The man's eyes widened with surprise, as if he didn't expect Bakugou to actually come up to him.
"Symbol or no symbol, what we have to do remains the same. We're just gonna beat the crap out of the damn villains, that's all."
The pink haired reporter's eyes glowed, tears brimming the corner of his eyes as he was touched by Bakugou's words. "Thank you! I'll be cheering you on!" he said with a big smile. Bakugou's lips curled upward, just slightly.
He ignored all the reporters that continued to file in, bombarding him with questions. Suddenly he felt a vibration in his pocket, and he took out his phone, his eyes narrowing with suspicion when he saw the caller ID. "What do you want Deku?" he spat into the phone. Even after all these years, after reconciling with him, he still can't bring himself to talk nicely to his green haired childhood friend.
"H-Hey Kacchan! It's been a while! How's it going?" The curly green haired man also can't seem to quite get over his nervousness around Bakugou.
"Get to the point."
"A-Alright. Basically we think we have a lead on the League."
Bakugou's eyes instinctively darted towards the phone, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to physically see the green haired hero. "We as in?"
"Recently my agency has been working on this big drug dealing case. The type that has to do with quirk enhancers..." Midoriya explained. "So we think this might be a lead on the League. We're not sure how far back we have to trace, but this isn't your average drug dealers. Their association spread across the entire nation. I'm sure you've had cases over where you're at too."
"Yeah, and what do you want from me?" Bakugou demanded.
"Todoroki-kun, Iida-kun, and a group of other heroes in the area are going to be raiding the hideout next week. I know you're busy guarding Iki-san and all, but it feels wrong not to include you on this operation, since you've also been on the League of Villains case for so long... So...are you coming?" Midoriya chuckled at how it began to sound like he was inviting Bakugou to a party. "I heard Kaminari-kun and Kirishima-kun teamed up with you! I should talk to them too!"
"No need. I'll tell them. Is that it?" Bakugou asked.
"Um, yeah, basically. Something wrong? You don't sound excited..."
Bakugou felt odd too. Normally he'd jump and yell at Deku saying of course he's coming, but for some reason, he was hesitating. "I'll think about it." And then he hung up on Midoriya. At that moment he only had one question on his mind. What about Kamiko? At the thought of her, his heart began to race. He checked her GPS signal on his phone, seeing that red dot flashing at the location of the agency on the map, and his lips curled upward. I want to see her.
Never had it felt so unbearable to leave the side of someone. Even back then, during his first day of daycare, he seemed perfectly fine to leave his mother. Bakugou had always been strong and independent. He never needed anyone. Kamiko. The thought of her smile, her voice, her touch made every muscle in Bakugou's body want to turn and head back. Time seemed to go by so slowly. The world suddenly seemed like such a dangerous place. If only there weren't any villains, then...
Bakugou scoffed at himself. If there weren't any villains, he would be jobless. For the first time in his life he wondered what life would have been like without quirks, like the way its been before humans started to mutate. Without villains, heroes, powers. What would he be doing? Would he still be able to meet her?
There's no doubt in Bakugou that he feels blessed to be born in this era, to be blessed with a powerful quirk. He likes being a hero. He likes being cool. He likes beating up bad guys. Most importantly, he likes winning. He never gave much thought about making the society peaceful, for he'd have nothing to do if it were actually peaceful. His goal was never to create a peaceful society; he just wanted to win.
However it was different now. Bakugou wanted peace. He wanted a world where she can be safe. He wanted a world where she can go outside freely, without worrying someone's targetting her. He wanted a world where she doesn't need to constantly be on surveillance. He wanted a world where she can be happy. Kamiko... Oh god he was going crazy for her. How long has he known her anyways? Well technically he's known her for four years, but he didn't actually get to know her until two or three months ago. Now she's changing him without even trying to change him.
Bakugou checked the time. It was still early, but should he start heading back? There wasn't much going on earlier anyways, and he just solved a villain case, surely there's bound to be no more villains right? Bakugou walked down the streets as he looked up places to eat, wondering what she want's today.
Kamiko stretched her arms, relaxing her stiff body after sitting for so long. She has been working so long she didn't notice that it was already dinner time. He must still be busy, she thought.
"Hey Iki!" Kaminari snapped Kamiko out of her thoughts. "Wanna grab some grub together?" He placed a hand on her desk, and pointed to the door with his other hand.
"Is it really okay for you to be flirting with Iki when Jirou is still mad at you?" Kirishima snickered on the side.
"Hey we don't talk about her!" Kaminari exclaimed. Kamiko chuckled at Kaminari's flustered face.
"Is Jirou the person you like?" Kamiko asked.
Kaminari paused for a second, eyes darting sideways as red dusted over his cheeks. "Well no...not re-"
"Oh yeah, he and Jirou had been flirting since high school, but for some reason none of them bothered to break the final wall!" Kirishima chirped as he placed an arm around Kaminari's shoulder.
"How come? Kaminari you seem like a pretty smooth talker how come you haven't asked her out?" Kamiko asked.
Kaminari scratched the back of his head. "At first I really just wasn't sure if she felt the same way... And you know me, I tend to get a little flirty when I see pretty girls, can't help it, so she gets mad at me quite a lot. As time went on it became harder and harder to say it..."
"Huh..." Kamiko didn't really understand his situation but somehow she could see a correlation to her and Bakugou. Should she just brave it out and ask him to be her boyfriend? Or should she wait a bit and see if they were actually ready to take this, whatever they currently have between them, seriously?
"So what do you say about dinner?" Kaminari changed the subject back. "Kiri you wanna come too?"
"Sure!" Kirishima said. "I really want some ramen today. You feeling ramen?"
Kamiko didn't know if she should tell them she made plans with Bakugou. Would it be rude to exclude them? They are their friends after all and if they're going to celebrate summer break for her might as well celebrate as a group.
"What about Bakugou?" She asked.
"Well of course we're gonna bring Bakugou! Can't leave our Boom Boom Man out!" Kirishima replied with a big grin. As if on cue, Bakugou walked into the office. "Ah there he is! Bakugou! Kaminari, Iki and I are going to get ramen! Wanna come?"
Bakugou's eyes widened at Kamiko, who smiled at him apologetically. His brows quickly furrowed as he understood the situation. That shithead...! He was tempted to tell his friends to fuck off, and that he wanted to have dinner alone with Kamiko, but he remembered Deku's call from earlier.
"Fine, just so happens I have something to tell you guys. Let's discuss it over dinner," Bakugou growled. That caught Kamiko's attention. The sudden change in Bakugou's expression and the seriousness in his eyes somehow made her feel really uneasy.
Since it was a celebration, the whole agency decided to go together. However, Inazumari, Clearvo, and Kaminari vetoed the ramen, and voted on an Izakaya. "Let's go!" Clearvo was pumped to go to an Izakaya, since he was still underaged, and normally he wouldn't go on his own. Of course none of the people here were going to let him drink, but he can still enjoy the atmosphere of the adult world.
"I'm not treating everyone," Bakugou said softly to Kamiko as they walked down the streets together.
Kamiko chuckled softly at him. "But you should. You're the boss. You should treat your employees once in a while." She nudged him in the side. She had a fair point, but considering Kirishima and Kaminari basically forced themselves on him, Bakugou didn't think of them as his employees.
"Hey," Bakugou said, catching Kamiko's attention as they made their way across the street. "Do you have plans the next few days?"
Kamiko raised a brow. "Not really... I'm on summer break now so I just plan on sleeping and working on my manga, why?" Is he...trying to ask me out on a date? Bakugou suddenly came to a stop. They were already across the street. The others were walking ahead, and hadn't noticed the ash blonde stopped at the edge of the sidewalk. Kamiko paused and turned around to look at him. "Bakugou?"
"I need to go on a business trip."
Oh. Kamiko felt her smile stiffen. She tried to ignore the churning feeling in the depth of her stomach as she forced herself to keep smiling. She inquired, "So...?"
"The whole agency is going to be going, so you need to come with."
"Is that the thing you were going to tell everyone during dinner?" Kamiko asked. Bakugou nodded. Kamiko wondered why he felt the need to tell her beforehand, and she wasn't sure what kind of response he was expecting from her, so she just rubbed the back of her neck nervously and asked, "Where to?"
"Musutafu."
"Musutafu?!" she exclaimed.
Bakugou raised a brow. "Something wrong?"
"Eh? Ah, no... Just... I live there, so..." Kamiko scratched her cheek.
"You also live at Musutafu?"
"Yeah... Wait, 'also'? You too?"
Bakugou nodded. He began to walk again, and Kamiko walked beside him as they followed along the rest of the group which were already a good distance ahead. "We're going to be going on a mission with a group of heroes. During that time, I won't be able to guard you. I'll find you a safe hero agency to stay while I'm gone."
"Can't I just stay home?"
"Not unless there's a hero to guard you."
"I see... How long will you guys be gone?" Kamiko asked.
"Shouldn't take more than one night," Bakugou said. He hesitated to tell her the possibility of casualties. If it were a normal raid Deku wouldn't have called him, and since there's a possibility of the League involved the heroes are extra on guard about it, which is why there will be so many heroes working on this mission. Bakugou remembered all the past missions that he and the UA students were involved in since high school, each one filled with injuries and casualties.
Noticing the uneasiness in his eyes, Kamiko bit her bottom lip nervously. Just yesterday they were laying on the ground, kissing each other, and today he was called to duty. I guess now would be a horrible time to throw my feelings at him... "Then be careful. I'll wait patiently at the hero agency you put me in." She flashed him a closed eye smile.
Bakugou felt his nerves relax at the sight of her smile. His face softened and he gently replied, "Yeah."
A/N: I know a lot of you guys are dying for Kamiko and Bakugou to get together, but welp... NOT YET! When I was planning this story I didn't think it'd take so long. This has got to be my longest ongoing fanfiction yet. I guess my love for Bakugou is just too much!
While you guys are waiting for them to get together, why don't you sweethearts help me out a bit and think of some pet names they could call each other in the future? I'm not a pet names kinda person so I don't do pet names IRL, but I think it would be cute for Bakugou to call her something other than "Shithead," which is what I current have in my head for him. Like Shithead is kinda cute and all, but not really romantic.
(If you're gonna suggest Teddy Bear please suggest something else as well, I need lots of options)