An Actual Mission

Uraraka kind of forgot this whole thing stemmed from her job. She clocked in the next Friday morning feeling strangely normal, though Bakugo had ignored any and every chance she tried to talk to him outside of work for yet another week.

Although Kirishima told her to stick it out and be patient with him, Mina's advice telling her to push forward and 'crybaby Kats' will suck it up eventually seemed more fitting.

Uraraka felt horrible about this whole situation, that was never going to change. But at the end of the day, she had a reputation to uphold, and a job to do, and even if she felt like Bakugo's silent treatment was waning longer than it should have, it wasn't going to get in the way of what she was hired to do.

"So what you're saying is...this guy knows everything about us?" Uraraka asked as Keigo paced around her office. The tension was still there at times, but for the most part, the two had managed to repair their professional relationship in a relatively short time.

"I'm saying, he's dissected everything about what you are, not entirely who." Keigo replied, finally taking a seat.

"Right...fill me in on that."

"Essentially, this guy, the uh...what is it.."

"SoothSayer," She provided.

"Yeah, thanks. Anyways, this guy, has the ability to foresee genetic mutations. He's literally a soothsayer, a truth-teller, on a genetic level." Keigo explained.

"But how does it work?" Uraraka prodded further.

"We're not exactly too sure, but based on the information from our database, we believe he's able to map the genetics of any individual he touches, even to go as far as predict the genes of a couple, or expecting mother." He said plainly.

"Anyone he touches...?" Uraraka said more to herself than Keigo. She thought back to the hotel when she first met the odd man, and recalled the exposed feeling she felt after she shook his hand. Maybe he had mapped her genes with Bakugo's that day they met, or he had an idea of how things would turn out if they were to conceive. The idea of someone knowing her that well biologically was a sicker feeling than him physically stalking her.

"Yeah, apparently he basically exposes himself to your genetic make-up in an instant. Super creepy. Analytics has suggested he may be able to see dormant or more recessive genes that may not show up physically, and that's probably what he's after." Keigo confirmed her suspicions.

"So his goal may not even be reproduction or children..." Uraraka realized. "He may be after more uncommon quirks, maybe more dangerous ones that never manifested."

"It's possible. The new generation of quirks is already proving to be a slight concern, because quirks are becoming more and more specific from generation to generation, but if he can pick and choose which genes to isolate and focus on, he might as well be breeding villains."

Uraraka looked at Keigo a long time, weighing the dangers of this man's capabilities. This was no longer a sick lab bust, it was an intense investigation on the literal building blocks of their society. Everything she knew was now at risk or seemingly unreal, if it could be manipulated so easily in theory. If people could pick and choose their quirks, they'd either blow up with power, or they'd reign in the long-illegal quirk-breeding ring, and this time it may go overlooked.

This method of selection could be the loophole past that, and knowing she was now a candidate of such a trial made her sick to her stomach. Fuck the relationship drama, fuck Bakugo, fuck the hero society, this was some next-level method of evil she hadn't seen since meeting Eri. It was sick, it was cruel, and it was unfair to the citizens of the world who didn't have a choice of who they were.

Who they were and the ability they may or may not have possessed shouldn't have been a choice someone else was supposed to make. For all Uraraka believed, people should be free to make choices for themselves, not mapped out a birth. It seemed like a weird joke on the idea of free will, and she stood abruptly.

"Right, thank you Keigo. Has my partner been informed of this?" She asked.

"No, I was on my-"

"I'll tell him."

Uraraka briefly remembered the last phone call she had with Mina, shortly after she and Kirishima deployed. She updated her pink bestie on the events and aftermath of the party, and it wasn't exactly a cry for help, but more like a 'This is why my life is falling apart' update that Mina had desperately been craving. The women were on the phone, the last call they were allowed for the next 4 weeks, and Uraraka wondered if that was how they should really spend it.

"I mean, I feel pretty stupid, it was just a party his ex happened to be at." Uraraka said, sighing into the phone that Sunday night.

"Well yeah, I totally forgot she existed." Mina explained. "For all I knew, Kats didn't do relationships, let alone with someone as public as her."

"Why didn't we ever know about this, though?" Uraraka asked, feeling a bit guilty for doing so.

"Chaks..." Mina started.

"What? Seriously, she's insanely pretty, and she must be super popular on social media." Uraraka said.

"Well, Kats is super private, maybe he just told her to kind of keep things a secret. I had an idea they dated, but never knew it was a full-blown relationship." Mina said.

"Yeah, for 2 years. I feel like such an idiot for how it all went down afterwards." Uraraka sighed.

"You were both some drunk sad sacks," Mina joked, though her friend didn't laugh. "Chaks...don't get so hung up on this. I mean it's fucking Bakugo, for fuck's sake. If he wants to act like a jerk for the rest of his life over a true misunderstanding, let him. You're better than this."

"Am I, Mina, honestly?" Uraraka asked quietly.

"YES, Ochako. I get it, you fucked up once, but seriously, life goes on. Me and Kiri are gone, Tsu and Midoriya are gone, have you even checked on them since they left? I love you, but get your head out of your plump little ass for two seconds. We've got actual priorities and lives at stake here girly. You can beef with Kats over your weird sex life after this."

Uraraka stayed silent for a while, because for the most part, Mina had been super supportive of her and made her emotions feel valid. She hadn't had a proper Pinky Put Down in ages, and though she knew her friend was right, she couldn't help but to feel a bit of annoyance.

"Ochako...just don't mess this up over something so simple. I believe you guys will work it out, but the more you beat yourself up about this, the longer it will go on."

"But why do I have to be the bigger person..?" Uraraka sighed.

"Because this is your problem girly, he got roped into it. Never forget that."

Uraraka sighed into the phone, murmuring about how her friend was right.

"Yeah, yeah, I can fix this."

"You damn sure can Chaks. I love you, and please, be safe. We haven't gotten to far into the job, but from the looks of it, it's pretty bad." Mina said, her voice wavering at the end. Uraraka slapped herself in the face for being so dense, this really was a serious issue at hand.

"Hey, don't worry about me. I just wanna see you an Kiri back in time to walk down the aisle, okay? I want babies too, little weird freaky pink and red ones, okay?" Uraraka said. "Just come back, that's all."

"I promise, we'll be back before you know it to laugh this all off over a double date."

So she burst into his office moments later, because it was right next to hers and she had at least 30 seconds of confidence. With all 5'2 feet of her being amplified 4 inches by a pair of pumps and flattering pencil skirt, she walked straight up to his desk and stood there with her arms crossed until he acknowledged her presence.

"I am here with information," She started boldly.

Silence.

"It's about our villain, the-"

"SoothSayer, right, get on with it." He said blankly, not looking up from his paperwork.

"Acknowledge me like a real person first," She huffed. She wasn't going to take his bullshit a second longer, no matter how bad the past 2 weeks had been. She was over it, and fast. After her revelation with Keigo, she was convinced she seriously had bigger priorities than two blonde man-children with egos the size of Silver-Age All Might.

"Just tell me what the info is so you can get out of here."

"Could you just say hello, or something?" She asked in annoyance.

"You have intel, you talk about the fucking intel," He said.

"Listen here-"

"Cheeks, spit it the fuck out or leave," He said, finally looking at her. "Y'know what...Hawks! Get your bird ass in here!" He yelled.

Uraraka was taken aback for sure, because not only was he stilll being insanely rude to her, but he resorted to listening to Keigo over her? Bullshit. Total. Complete. Bullshit.

"I came to relay the message." She said, slamming her hands on his desk. She leaned down (though it wasn't far) and stared into his eyes with an intensity he had never seen from her before. "Regardless of the petty, childish, and absolutely absurd act you're giving me right now, I still demand to be treated with the respect that you asked of me last weekend."

"I asked you to never fucking speak to me outside of work."

"And here I am, at work, asking you to say a damn 'Hello' to me like an actual adult."

He blinked a few times before realizing this was the same Uraraka who had cried her eyes out over him at her desk last Friday, coming to him now on this current Friday with the confidence of a woman who shall not be scorned.

He had to say, her over-confidence and zero-tolerance for his moodiness was really working for her. But he was still mad, still stubborn, and still a child of sorts.

"Hello, Ochako." He growled at her. When she didn't back up from his desk in satisfaction, he had to admit to himself he was very confused.

"Hello, Katsuki." She said firmly, her stare never leaving his. "What we are dealing with is serious, life-threatening, as well as the sickest thing I've ever dealt with. Now I know I've been more rescue-based since high school and I don't have too much experience with missions like this, but trust me when I say this is something both of us are going to have to figure out together."

"I don't care about Camie, I don't care about Keigo, I just want to get through this with you and keep our future safe."

The fact that she said 'future' instead of 'futures' made Bakugo take her a bit more seriously, and her rigid posture and slightly deeper-than-normal voice was indication she was entirely serious. In fact, it was the only time she could call herself being honest behind her words. He sat back in his desk and crossed his arms.

"Tell me more, Cheeks."